Specification of complementary participatory methods for SEAMLESS-IF

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Associations between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in adolescents

Background: The high prevalence of children's asthma symptoms, worldwide, is unexplained. We examined the relation between maternal pre-pregnancy weight and body mass index (BMI), and asthma symptoms in adolescents. Methods: Data from 6945 adolescents born within the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 were used. Prospective antenatal and birth outcome data, including maternal pre-pregnancy weight and BMI, and asthma symptoms in adolescent offspring at age 15–16 years, were employed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the associations between relevant prenatal factors and asthma symptoms during adolescence. Results: Current wheeze (within the past year) was reported by 10.6% of adolescents, and physician-diagnosed asthma by 6.0%. High maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was a significant predictor of wheeze in the adolescents (increase per kilogram per square metre unit; 2.7%, 95% CI 0.9 to 4.4 for ever wheeze; 3.5%, 95% CI 1.3 to 5.8 for current wheeze), and adjusting for potential confounders further increased the risk (2.8%, 95% CI 0.5 to 5.1; 4.7%, 95% CI 1.9 to 7.7, respectively). High maternal pre-pregnancy weight, in the top tertile, also significantly increased the odds of current wheeze in the adolescent by 20% (95% CI 4 to 39), and adjusting for potential confounders further increased the risk (OR=1.52, 95% CI 1.19 to 1.95). Results were similar for current asthma. Furthermore, these significant associations were observed only among adolescents without parental history of atopy but not among those with parental history of atopy. Conclusions: The association demonstrated here between maternal pre-pregnancy overweight and obesity, and asthma symptoms in adolescents suggests that increase in asthma may be partly related to the rapid rise in obesity in recent years

Modeling of the Concentrations of Ultrafine Particles in the Plumes of Ships in the Vicinity of Major Harbors

Marine traffic in harbors can be responsible for significant atmospheric concentrations of ultrafine particles (UFPs), which have widely recognized negative effects on human health. It is therefore essential to model and measure the time evolution of the number size distributions and chemical composition of UFPs in ship exhaust to assess the resulting exposure in the vicinity of shipping routes. In this study, a sequential modelling chain was developed and applied, in combination with the data measured and collected in major harbor areas in the cities of Helsinki and Turku in Finland, during winter and summer in 2010-2011. The models described ship emissions, atmospheric dispersion, and aerosol dynamics, complemented with a time-microenvironment-activity model to estimate the short-term UFP exposure. We estimated the dilution ratio during the initial fast expansion of the exhaust plume to be approximately equal to eight. This dispersion regime resulted in a fully formed nucleation mode (denoted as Nuc(2)). Different selected modelling assumptions about the chemical composition of Nuc(2) did not have an effect on the formation of nucleation mode particles. Aerosol model simulations of the dispersing ship plume also revealed a partially formed nucleation mode (Nuc(1); peaking at 1.5 nm), consisting of freshly nucleated sulfate particles and condensed organics that were produced within the first few seconds. However, subsequent growth of the new particles was limited, due to efficient scavenging by the larger particles originating from the ship exhaust. The transport of UFPs downwind of the ship track increased the hourly mean UFP concentrations in the neighboring residential areas by a factor of two or more up to a distance of 3600 m, compared with the corresponding UFP concentrations in the urban background. The substantially increased UFP concentrations due to ship traffic significantly affected the daily mean exposures in residential areas located in the vicinity of the harbors.Peer reviewe

Polyol-combinant saliva stimulants and oral health in Veterans Affairs patients—An exploratory study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72530/1/j.1754-4505.1996.tb00843.x.pd

The Draft Genome and Transcriptome of Panagrellus redivivus Are Shaped by the Harsh Demands of a Free-Living Lifestyle

Nematodes compose an abundant and diverse invertebrate phylum with members inhabiting nearly every ecological niche. Panagrellus redivivus (the “microworm”) is a free-living nematode frequently used to understand the evolution of developmental and behavioral processes given its phylogenetic distance to Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we report the de novo sequencing of the genome, transcriptome, and small RNAs of P. redivivus. Using a combination of automated gene finders and RNA-seq data, we predict 24,249 genes and 32,676 transcripts. Small RNA analysis revealed 248 microRNA (miRNA) hairpins, of which 63 had orthologs in other species. Fourteen miRNA clusters containing 42 miRNA precursors were found. The RNA interference, dauer development, and programmed cell death pathways are largely conserved. Analysis of protein family domain abundance revealed that P. redivivus has experienced a striking expansion of BTB domain-containing proteins and an unprecedented expansion of the cullin scaffold family of proteins involved in multi-subunit ubiquitin ligases, suggesting proteolytic plasticity and/or tighter regulation of protein turnover. The eukaryotic release factor protein family has also been dramatically expanded and suggests an ongoing evolutionary arms race with viruses and transposons. The P. redivivus genome provides a resource to advance our understanding of nematode evolution and biology and to further elucidate the genomic architecture leading to free-living lineages, taking advantage of the many fascinating features of this worm revealed by comparative studies

Thermal stability of connective tissue and meat quality of loose structured porcine semimembranosus muscles

Loose structure and PSE like zones on the lateral surface of porcine semimembranosus muscle have beenobserved by other researchers. However the role of connective tissue in this abnormally loose structure insemimembranosus muscle has not yet been clarified. We collected about 100g samples from 7 loosestructured and 7 normal structured Irish commercial porcine semimembranosus muscles in order tocompare the onset and peak of thermal transition temperature of intramuscular connective tissue betweenthe samples from the two groups. Meat quality parameters, ultimate pH, rough estimate for drip loss,lightness (L), redness (a) yellowness (b) and as well as electrical conductivity and reflectance were alsomeasured on the samples. Four of the samples characterized as normal by visual assessment showed DFDcharacteristic so the statistical analysis was carried out both including and excluding those samples. Inboth cases the onset (p<0.001; 56.94ºC vs. 59.82ºC) and peak (p<0.001; 62.59ºC vs. 64.06ºC) of thermaltransition temperature were significantly lower in loose structured meat than in normal structured meat.Also reflectance% was lower (p<0.01; 45.18% vs. 69.17%) and the colour lighter (higher L value; p<0.01;55.05 vs. 45.52) and more yellow (higher b value; p<0.001; 18.27 vs. 14.78) in loose structured meat thanin normal structured meat when the DFD like samples were excluded. These results indicate that loosestructure in porcine semimembranosus muscle could be attributed in part to connective tissue propertiespossibly in conjunction with PSE effects