The effects of a short term physical activity intervention programme on body mass index, blood pressure, and percentage body fat among high school learners

Introduction: The increase in physical inactivity is thought to be one of the main risk factors for the development of diseases of lifestyle. This has highlighted the need for prevention and intervention programmes that are thought to assist in influencing the modifiable risk factors. Physical activity programmes have been proven to positively influence risk factors such us blood pressure and body mass index (BMI). Interventions by health professionals can assist in combating the problem. This study aimed to determine the effects of a short term physical activity programme on the BMI, body fat and blood pressure of high school learners in a local community in the Western Cape. Methods: The total number of learners who volunteered to participate in the study was 106. The study used a pre-test post-test design. The intervention programme was a 6 week programme run for 3 days per week for a period of 40 – 60 minutes per session. The intervention consisted of moderate to vigorous activities. Data was analysed by comparing learners who participated in the intervention and those who did not. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in this study. Results: Prior to the intervention it was found that 18% were found to be obese and at least 10% were hypertensive. Following the intervention it was reported that blood pressure as well as BMI and percentage body fat was influenced in positive way. Conclusion: One can conclude that, a short term physical activity intervention programme conducted three times a week with moderate activities can affect the BMI and blood pressure levels of adolescents

The impact of adjusting for baseline in pharmacogenomic genome-wide association studies of quantitative change.

In pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change, any association between genetic variants and the pretreatment (baseline) measurement can bias the estimate of effect between those variants and drug response. A putative solution is to adjust for baseline. We conducted a series of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) response to statin therapy in 34,874 participants of the Genetic Epidemiology Research on Adult Health and Aging (GERA) cohort as a case study to investigate the impact of baseline adjustment on results generated from pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change. Across phenotypes of statin-induced LDL-C change, baseline adjustment identified variants from six loci meeting genome-wide significance (SORT/CELSR2/PSRC1, LPA, SLCO1B1, APOE, APOB, and SMARCA4/LDLR). In contrast, baseline-unadjusted analyses yielded variants from three loci meeting the criteria for genome-wide significance (LPA, APOE, and SLCO1B1). A genome-wide heterogeneity test of baseline versus statin on-treatment LDL-C levels was performed as the definitive test for the true effect of genetic variants on statin-induced LDL-C change. These findings were generally consistent with the models not adjusting for baseline signifying that genome-wide significant hits generated only from baseline-adjusted analyses (SORT/CELSR2/PSRC1, APOB, SMARCA4/LDLR) were likely biased. We then comprehensively reviewed published GWASs of drug-induced quantitative change and discovered that more than half (59%) inappropriately adjusted for baseline. Altogether, we demonstrate that (1) baseline adjustment introduces bias in pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change and (2) this erroneous methodology is highly prevalent. We conclude that it is critical to avoid this common statistical approach in future pharmacogenomic studies of quantitative change

Chromosome groups 5, 6 and 7 harbor major quantitative trait loci controlling root traits in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Identifying genomic regions for root traits in bread wheat can help breeders develop climate-resilient and high-yielding wheat varieties with desirable root traits. This study used the recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of Synthetic W7984 × Opata M85 to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for different root traits such as rooting depth (RD), root dry mass (RM), total root length (RL), root diameter (Rdia) and root surface areas (RSA1 for coarse roots and RSA2 for fine roots) under controlled conditions in a semi-hydroponic system. We detected 14 QTL for eight root traits on nine wheat chromosomes; we discovered three QTL each for RD and RSA1, two QTL each for RM and RSA2, and one QTL each for RL, Rdia, specific root length and nodal root number per plant. The detected QTL were concentrated on chromosome groups 5, 6 and 7. The QTL for shallow RD (Q.rd.uwa.7BL: Xbarc50) and high RM (Q.rm.uwa.6AS: Xgwm334) were validated in two independent F2 populations of Synthetic W7984 × Chara and Opata M85 × Cascade, respectively. Genotypes containing negative alleles for Q.rd.uwa.7BL had 52% shallower RD than other Synthetic W7984 × Chara population lines. Genotypes with the positive alleles for Q.rm.uwa.6AS had 31.58% higher RM than other Opata M85 × Cascade population lines. Further, we identified 21 putative candidate genes for RD (Q.rd.uwa.7BL) and 13 for RM (Q.rm.uwa.6AS); TraesCS6A01G020400, TraesCS6A01G024400 and TraesCS6A01G021000 identified from Q.rm.uwa.6AS, and TraesCS7B01G404000, TraesCS7B01G254900 and TraesCS7B01G446200 identified from Q.rd.uwa.7BL encoded important proteins for root traits. We found germin-like protein encoding genes in both Q.rd.uwa.7BL and Q.rm.uwa.6AS regions. These genes may play an important role in RM and RD improvement. The identified QTL, especially the validated QTL and putative candidate genes are valuable genetic resources for future root trait improvement in wheat

The tree cover and temperature disparity in US urbanized areas: Quantifying the association with income across 5,723 communities

Urban tree cover provides benefits to human health and well-being, but previous studies suggest that tree cover is often inequitably distributed. Here, we use National Agriculture Imagery Program digital ortho photographs to survey the tree cover inequality for Census blocks in US large urbanized areas, home to 167 million people across 5,723 municipalities and other Census-designated places. We compared tree cover to summer land surface temperature, as measured using Landsat imagery. In 92% of the urbanized areas surveyed, low-income blocks have less tree cover than high-income blocks. On average, low-income blocks have 15.2% less tree cover and are 1.5˚C hotter than high-income blocks. The greatest difference between low- and high-income blocks was found in urbanized areas in the Northeast of the United States, where low-income blocks in some urbanized areas have 30% less tree cover and are 4.0˚C hotter. Even after controlling for population density and built-up intensity, the positive association between income and tree cover is significant, as is the positive association between proportion non-Hispanic white and tree cover. We estimate, after controlling for population density, that low-income blocks have 62 million fewer trees than high-income blocks, equal to a compensatory value of $56 billion ($1,349/person). An investment in tree planting and natural regeneration of $17.6 billion would be needed to close the tree cover disparity, benefitting 42 million people in low-income blocks

Obesity dysregulates the pulmonary antiviral immune response

Obesity is a well-recognized risk factor for severe influenza infections but the mechanisms underlying susceptibility are poorly understood. Here, we identify that obese individuals have deficient pulmonary antiviral immune responses in bronchoalveolar lavage cells but not in bronchial epithelial cells or peripheral blood dendritic cells. We show that the obese human airway metabolome is perturbed with associated increases in the airway concentrations of the adipokine leptin which correlated negatively with the magnitude of ex vivo antiviral responses. Exogenous pulmonary leptin administration in mice directly impaired antiviral type I interferon responses in vivo and ex vivo in cultured airway macrophages. Obese individuals hospitalised with influenza showed dysregulated upper airway immune responses. These studies provide insight into mechanisms driving propensity to severe influenza infections in obesity and raise the potential for development of leptin manipulation or interferon administration as novel strategies for conferring protection from severe infections in obese higher risk individuals