Exploring the health of university undergraduate students in relation to housing accommodations

This thesis examines the links between type of housing and health of university undergraduate students (n=213) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT). Housing was classified into three categories of housing accommodations: at home with their families, on-campus residences, and off-campus housing. A self-administered health questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this research. The research objectives include: 1) to assess the environmental and personal lifestyle exposures of UOIT undergraduate students, in relation to the three different types of housing accommodations; 2) to assess the general health of UOIT undergraduate students, with a focus on respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatological health; and 3) to examine predictors of related health outcomes. Guided by the Population Health Framework, the health questionnaire collected data related to the students??? physical environments, social environments, genetic endowment, individual and behavioral responses, health and function, and health care. Results indicate that most participants live at home with their families. Students living at home reported higher stress levels compared to those living in an on-campus residence building. The prevalence of the studied symptoms are as follows: fair or poor self-rated health (10.8%), respiratory related illness (35.7%), nausea and vomiting (37.6%), and skin irritations (42.3%). Results suggest there are no significant differences in health based on type of housing accommodation

Exploring the health of university undergraduate students in relation to housing accommodations

This thesis examines the links between type of housing and health of university undergraduate students (n=213) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (University of Ontario Institute of Technology). Housing was classified into three categories of housing accommodations: at home with their families, on-campus residences, and off-campus housing. A self-administered health questionnaire was developed for the purpose of this research. The research objectives include: 1) to assess the environmental and personal lifestyle exposures of University of Ontario Institute of Technology undergraduate students, in relation to the three different types of housing accommodations; 2) to assess the general health of University of Ontario Institute of Technology undergraduate students, with a focus on respiratory, gastrointestinal, and dermatological health; and 3) to examine predictors of related health outcomes. Guided by the Population Health Framework, the health questionnaire collected data related to the students??? physical environments, social environments, genetic endowment, individual and behavioral responses, health and function, and health care. Results indicate that most participants live at home with their families. Students living at home reported higher stress levels compared to those living in an on-campus residence building. The prevalence of the studied symptoms are as follows: fair or poor self-rated health (10.8%), respiratory related illness (35.7%), nausea and vomiting (37.6%), and skin irritations (42.3%). Results suggest there are no significant differences in health based on type of housing accommodation

School screening program: update of the prevalence of overweight and obesity between 1996 and 2017

Within the School Screening Program, around 16 school nurses measure selected health indicators every year, including weight, height and selected other lifestyles variables in all ~5800 students in the C2, P4, S1 and S4 grades in all schools. • Overweight and obesity are defined along standard age and sex specific criteria by the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF). • In 2017, weight and height were measured in 3351 students from 5760 eligible students, a participation rate of only 58%. The disappointingly low participation rate in 2017, and in recent years in general, seems to be partially related to the fact that school nurses often cannot run the school program because of concurrent duties in health centers. This issue should be addressed urgently if the screening program is to be sustained in 2018. • The prevalence of overweight or obesity in children aged 9-16 years (P4, S1 and S4) increased by more than two times, between 1998 and 2017, from 9.3% to 26.4% in boys and from 12.9% in 1998 to 28.5% in girls. The current levels are extremely high by international comparison. The steep linear increase over time, including in recent years, underlies a major public health problem

Engaging Youth In Creating A Healthy School Environment: A Photovoice Strategy

This study examined a pilot participatory needs assessment that was conducted with nine senior high school students from Port of Spain, Trinidad. Photovoice was used to engage these students in critical dialogue about their perceptions of issues affecting their health. Trained graduate students facilitated a 3-day training session in photovoice technique/ethics, writing narratives, critical reflection and dialogue with these students. Once trained, they were given disposable cameras and asked to photograph their school environment and document their thoughts on what they had photographed. After collation of photos and dialogue, seven health themes emerged. The most recurring themes included quality of the food served at schools, need for safe, clean and well-maintained school facilities, and role modeling by teachers, parents and community. Recommendations to address the concerns identified were discussed by the participants. The study concluded that conducting needs assessment, which concentrates on the voices of those affected, can be a first step in creating successful and cost-efficient programs and interventions tailored to specific groups. A needs assessment using photovoice should be a technique considered by school staff, government leaders, health professionals, and NGOs

Cryo-EM structure of enteric adenovirus HAdV-F41 highlights structural variations among human adenoviruses

Enteric adenoviruses, one of the main causes of viral gastroenteritis in the world, must withstand the harsh conditions found in the gut. This requirement suggests that capsid stability must be different from that of other adenoviruses. We report the 4-Å-resolution structure of a human enteric adenovirus, HAdV-F41, and compare it with that of other adenoviruses with respiratory (HAdV-C5) and ocular (HAdV-D26) tropisms. While the overall structures of hexon, penton base, and internal minor coat proteins IIIa and VIII are conserved, we observe partially ordered elements reinforcing the vertex region, which suggests their role in enhancing the physicochemical capsid stability of HAdV-F41. Unexpectedly, we find an organization of the external minor coat protein IX different from all previously characterized human and nonhuman mastadenoviruses. Knowledge of the structure of enteric adenoviruses provides a starting point for the design of vectors suitable for oral delivery or intestinal targetingThis work was supported by grants PID2019-104098GB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and BFU2016-74868-P, cofunded by the Spanish State Research Agency and the European Regional Development Fund; BFU2013-41249-P and BIO2015-68990-REDT (the Spanish Adenovirus Network, AdenoNet) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness; and the Agencia Estatal CSIC (2019AEP045) to C.S.M. The CNB-CSIC is further supported by a Severo Ochoa Excellence grant (SEV 2017-0712). Work in M.B’s. lab was supported by grant 194562-08 from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of is a recipient of a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract funded by the Spanish State Research Agency. M.P.-I. holds a predoctoral contract from La Caixa Foundation (ID 100010434), under agreement LCF/BQ/SO16/52270032. Access to CEITEC was supported by iNEXT, project number 653706, funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Union. The CEITEC Cryo-electron Microscopy and Tomography core facility is supported by MEYS CR (LM2018127

Health for life : annual report of activities for the period January-December 2013

In Seychelles, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), notably stroke, ischemic heart disease and hypertensive heart disease has become the largest contributor of deaths (40%) in the entire population. CVD also results in a large burden of disability and also has subsequent social and economic impact. The Unit for Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases (UPCCD) provides leadership, expertise and capacity at national level for the surveillance, prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases through education, programs and input into policy

A unique conformation of the anticodon stem-loop is associated with the capacity of tRNAfMet to initiate protein synthesis

In all organisms, translational initiation takes place on the small ribosomal subunit and two classes of methionine tRNA are present. The initiator is used exclusively for initiation of protein synthesis while the elongator is used for inserting methionine internally in the nascent polypeptide chain. The crystal structure of Escherichia coli initiator tRNAfMet has been solved at 3.1 Å resolution. The anticodon region is well-defined and reveals a unique structure, which has not been described in any other tRNA. It encompasses a Cm32•A38 base pair with a peculiar geometry extending the anticodon helix, a base triple between A37 and the G29-C41 pair in the major groove of the anticodon stem and a modified stacking organization of the anticodon loop. This conformation is associated with the three GC basepairs in the anticodon stem, characteristic of initiator tRNAs and suggests a mechanism by which the translation initiation machinery could discriminate the initiator tRNA from all other tRNAs

Functional characterization of the YmcB and YqeV tRNA methylthiotransferases of Bacillus subtilis

Methylthiotransferases (MTTases) are a closely related family of proteins that perform both radical-S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) mediated sulfur insertion and SAM-dependent methylation to modify nucleic acid or protein targets with a methyl thioether group (–SCH3). Members of two of the four known subgroups of MTTases have been characterized, typified by MiaB, which modifies N6-isopentenyladenosine (i6A) to 2-methylthio-N6-isopentenyladenosine (ms2i6A) in tRNA, and RimO, which modifies a specific aspartate residue in ribosomal protein S12. In this work, we have characterized the two MTTases encoded by Bacillus subtilis 168 and find that, consistent with bioinformatic predictions, ymcB is required for ms2i6A formation (MiaB activity), and yqeV is required for modification of N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t6A) to 2-methylthio-N6-threonylcarbamoyladenosine (ms2t6A) in tRNA. The enzyme responsible for the latter activity belongs to a third MTTase subgroup, no member of which has previously been characterized. We performed domain-swapping experiments between YmcB and YqeV to narrow down the protein domain(s) responsible for distinguishing i6A from t6A and found that the C-terminal TRAM domain, putatively involved with RNA binding, is likely not involved with this discrimination. Finally, we performed a computational analysis to identify candidate residues outside the TRAM domain that may be involved with substrate recognition. These residues represent interesting targets for further analysis