Vitamin A and D intake in pregnancy, infant supplementation, and asthma development:the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort

Background Western diets may provide excess vitamin A, which is potentially toxic and could adversely affect respiratory health and counteract benefits from vitamin D. Objective The aim of this study was to examine child asthma at age 7 y in relation to maternal intake of vitamins A and D during pregnancy, infant supplementation with these vitamins, and their potential interaction. Design We studied 61,676 school-age children (born during 2002–2007) from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort with data on maternal total (food and supplement) nutrient intake in pregnancy (food-frequency questionnaire validated against biomarkers) and infant supplement use at age 6 mo (n = 54,142 children). Linkage with the Norwegian Prescription Database enabled near-complete follow-up (end of second quarter in 2015) for dispensed medications to classify asthma. We used log-binomial regression to calculate adjusted RRs (aRRs) for asthma with 95% CIs. Results Asthma increased according to maternal intake of total vitamin A [retinol activity equivalents (RAEs)] in the highest (≥2031 RAEs/d) compared with the lowest (≤779 RAEs/d) quintile (aRR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.40) and decreased for total vitamin D in the highest (≥13.6 µg/d) compared with the lowest (≤3.5 µg/d) quintile (aRR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.67, 0.97) during pregnancy. No association was observed for maternal intake in the highest quintiles of both nutrients (aRR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.83, 1.18) and infant supplementation with vitamin D or cod liver oil. Conclusions Excess vitamin A (≥2.5 times the recommended intake) during pregnancy was associated with increased risk, whereas vitamin D intake close to recommendations was associated with a reduced risk of asthma in school-age children. No association for high intakes of both nutrients suggests antagonistic effects of vitamins A and D. This trial was registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03197233. © 2018 American Society for Nutrition. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US

A comparison of Mexican-American and Anglo-American adolescents on tests of verbal fluency

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A grounded theory describing factors in the adoption process of the alley farming technology by Yoruba women in Nigeria

This study aimed to discover a theory from data on rural Yoruba women in southwestern Nigeria. The theory deals with farmers exposed to an agroforestry technology called 'alley farming.' A theory of agricultural change was developed to provide a framework for alley farming research and extension. Grounded theory is an inductive system for generating theory from empirical data (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). The constant comparative method, which alternates between data collection and data analysis, was used during fieldwork in 1984-86. Before propositions and hypotheses were defined, data were collected, coded, and analyzed to develop concepts or premises. According to Reynolds (1971, p.78) description of theory construction, the axiomatic theory of farming women and agricultural innovation consists of four "basic premises, each independent of the others, from which the propositions of the theory were logically derived.";Propositions, based on premises established during 1984-86, were field-tested in 1988. Data were collected over four years, 1984-86 and 1988, from participant observation, open-ended interviews, and document analysis. From the accompanying coding and data analysis during 1984-86, a conceptual framework emerged which corresponded with the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) developed by Hall, Wallace, and Dorsett (1973). This model was modified to illuminate the developmental processes that farmers experience as they implemented the alley farming technology. Questions arising from previous research were framed within the CBAM for a final round of data collection in 1988 to solicit farmers' opinions and reactions to alley farming;Several major factors that inhibit or facilitate the diffusion of alley farming were identified, including: (a) clarification of Yoruba women's role in farming; (b) crucial, but less visible, reasons for specifically targeting women in alley farming outreach; (c) socio-cultural conflicts and congruence factors; (d) the undermining of local realities by ignoring indigenous, land tenure norms that give women usufruct rights to farmland; (e) power exerted from outside the cultural system; and (f) compromises negotiated through change facilitators. Examples, grounded empirically, demonstrate that the theoretical framework provided both a diagnosis of farmers' needs and a prescription for further action;References. (1) Glaser, B. and Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine. (2) Hall, G., Wallace, R., and Dossett, W. (1973). A developmental conceptualization of the adoption process within educational institutions. Austin: The University of Texas at Austin, Research and Development Center. (3) Reynolds, P. (1971). A Primer in Theory Construction. New York: Macmillan.</p

Subtropical to Subpolar Lagrangian Pathways in the North Atlantic and Their Impact on High Latitude Property Fields

<p>In response to the differential heating of the earth, atmospheric and oceanic flows constantly act to carry surplus energy from low to high latitudes. In the ocean, this poleward energy flux occurs as part of the large scale meridional overturning circulation: warm, shallow waters are transported to high latitudes where they cool and sink, then follow subsurface pathways equatorward until they are once again upwelled to the surface and reheated. In the North Atlantic, the upper limb of this circulation has always been explained in simplistic terms: the Gulf Stream/North Atlantic Current system carries surface waters directly to high latitudes, resulting in elevated sea surface temperatures in the eastern subpolar gyre, and, because the prevailing winds sweeping across the Atlantic are warmed by these waters, anomalously warm temperatures in Western Europe. This view has long been supported by Eulerian measurements of North Atlantic sea surface temperature and surface velocities, which imply a direct and continuous transport of surface waters between the two gyres. However, though the importance of this redistribution of heat from low to high latitudes has been broadly recognized, few studies have focused on this transport within the Lagrangian frame. </p><p>The three studies included in this dissertation use data from the observational record and from a high resolution model of ocean circulation to re-examine our understanding of upper limb transport between the subtropical and subpolar gyres. Specifically, each chapter explores intergyre Lagrangian pathways and investigates the impact of those pathways on subpolar property fields. The findings from the studies suggest that intergyre transport pathways are primarily located beneath the surface and that subtropical surface waters are largely absent from the intergyre exchange process, a very different image of intergyre transport than that compiled from Eulerian data alone. As such, these studies also highlight the importance of including 3d Lagrangian information in examinations of transport pathways.</p>Dissertatio

Enhanced Efficacy of a Codon-Optimized DNA Vaccine Encoding the Glycoprotein Precursor Gene of Lassa Virus in a Guinea Pig Disease Model When Delivered by Dermal Electroporation

vaccine

Standardizing serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D data from four Nordic population samples using the Vitamin D Standardization Program protocols: Shedding new light on vitamin D status in Nordic individuals

<div><p></p><p>Knowledge about the distributions of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in representative population samples is critical for the quantification of vitamin D deficiency as well as for setting dietary reference values and food-based strategies for its prevention. Such data for the European Union are of variable quality making it difficult to estimate the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency across member states. As a consequence of the widespread, method-related differences in measurements of serum 25(OH)D concentrations, the <i>Vitamin D Standardization Program</i> (VDSP) developed protocols for standardizing existing serum 25(OH)D data from national surveys around the world. The objective of the present work was to apply the VDSP protocols to existing serum 25(OH)D data from a Danish, a Norwegian, and a Finnish population-based health survey and from a Danish randomized controlled trial. A specifically-selected subset (<i>n</i> 100–150) of bio-banked serum samples from each of the studies were reanalyzed for 25(OH)D by LC-MS/MS and a calibration equation developed between old and new 25(OH)D data, and this equation was applied to the entire data-sets from each study. Compared to estimates based on the original serum 25(OH)D data, the percentage vitamin D deficiency (< 30 nmol/L) decreased by 21.5% in the Danish health survey but by only 1.4% in the Norwegian health survey; but was relatively unchanged (0% and 0.2%) in the Finish survey or Danish RCT, respectively, following VDSP standardization. In conclusion, standardization of serum 25(OH)D concentrations is absolutely necessary in order to compare serum 25(OH)D concentrations across different study populations, which is needed to quantify and prevent vitamin D deficiency.</p></div