Baseline diet quality of predominantly minority children and adolescents from households characterized by low socioeconomic status in the Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) Consortium

Background: The Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) is a measure of diet quality that examines conformance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The objectives of this study were to estimate baseline diet quality of predominantly low-income minority children using the HEI-2010 and to identify the most important HEI components to target for dietary intervention. Methods: Two or three baseline 24 h dietary recalls were collected in-person or over telephone between May 2012 and June 2014 from 1,745 children and adolescents from four randomized clinical trials in the Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) Consortium. Nine adequacy and three moderation food components were calculated and averaged to determine overall HEI scores. The overall HEI-2010 scores were categorized as ≥81, 51-80, or ≤ 50 based on the HEI-2005 classification. For each study, mean overall and component HEI scores were estimated using linear regression models. Results: Mean (95% CI) overall HEI scores ranged from 47.9 (46.8, 49.0) to 64.5 (63.6, 65.4). Only 0.3 to 8.1% of children and adolescents had HEI-2010 score ≥ 81. The average component score for green and beans was less than 30% of maximum score for all trials. In contrast, the average component score for protein, dairy (except for IMPACT), and empty calories (except forIMPACT) was more than 80% of maximum score. Conclusions: Based on HEI-2010 scores, few children and adolescents consumed high quality diets. Dietary interventions for children and adolescents should focus on improving intakes of green vegetables and beans. Clinical trial registry numbers: GROW study (clinical trial # NCT01316653); NET-Works study (clinical trial #NCT01606891); Stanford Goals (clinical trial #NCT01642836); IMPACT (clinical trial # NCT01514279)

Snacking characteristics and patterns and their associations with diet quality and BMI in the Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research Consortium

Objective: To describe snacking characteristics and patterns in children and examine associations with diet quality and BMI. Design: Children's weight and height were measured. Participants/adult proxies completed multiple 24 h dietary recalls. Snack occasions were self-identified. Snack patterns were derived for each sample using exploratory factor analysis. Associations of snacking characteristics and patterns with Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010) score and BMI were examined using multivariable linear regression models. Setting: Childhood Obesity Prevention and Treatment Research (COPTR) Consortium, USA: NET-Works, GROW, GOALS and IMPACT studies. Participants: Predominantly low-income, racial/ethnic minorities: NET-Works (n 534, 2-4-year-olds); GROW (n 610, 3-5-year-olds); GOALS (n 241, 7-11-year-olds); IMPACT (n 360, 10-13-year-olds).Results: Two snack patterns were derived for three studies: a meal-like pattern and a beverage pattern. The IMPACT study had a similar meal-like pattern and a dairy/grains pattern. A positive association was observed between meal-like pattern adherence and HEI-2010 score (P for trend < 0-01) and snack occasion frequency and HEI-2010 score (β coefficient (95 % CI): NET-Works, 0-14 (0-04, 0-23); GROW, 0-12 (0-02, 0-21)) among younger children. A preference for snacking while using a screen was inversely associated with HEI-2010 score in all studies except IMPACT (β coefficient (95 % CI): NET-Works, -3-15 (-5-37, -0-92); GROW, -2-44 (-4-27, -0-61); GOALS, -5-80 (-8-74, -2-86)). Associations with BMI were almost all null. Conclusions: Meal-like and beverage patterns described most children's snack intake, although patterns for non-Hispanic Blacks or adolescents may differ. Diets of 2-5-year-olds may benefit from frequent meal-like pattern snack consumption and diets of all children may benefit from decreasing screen use during eating occasions

A community-based, multi-level, multi-setting, multi-component intervention to reduce weight gain among low socioeconomic status Latinx children with overweight or obesity: The Stanford GOALS randomised controlled trial

Background: There are few long-term studies of interventions to reduce in low socioeconomic status children with overweight or obesity. The Stanford GOALS trial evaluated a 3-year, community-based, multi-level, multi-setting, multi-component (MMM) systems intervention, to reduce weight gain among low socioeconomic status, Latinx children with overweight or obesity. Methods: We did a two-arm, parallel group, randomised, open-label, active placebo-controlled trial with masked assessment over 3 years. Families from low-income, primarily Latinx communities in Northern California, CA, USA, with 7–11-year-old children with overweight or obesity were randomly assigned to a MMM intervention or a Health Education (HE) comparison intervention. The MMM intervention included home environment changes and behavioural counselling, community after school team sports, and reports to primary health-care providers. The primary outcome was child BMI trajectory over three years. Secondary outcomes included one- and two-year changes in BMI. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01642836. Findings: Between July 13, 2012, and Oct 3, 2013, 241 families were recruited and randomly assigned to MMM (n=120) or HE (n=121). Children's mean age was 9·5 (SD 1·4) years, 134 (56%) were female and 107 (44%) were male, and 236 (98%) were Latinx. 238 (99%) children participated in year 1, 233 (97%) in year 2, and 227 (94%) in year 3 of follow-up assessments. In intention-to-treat analysis, over 3 years, the difference between intervention groups in BMI trajectory was not significant (mean adjusted difference −0·25 [95% CI −0·90 to 0·40] kg/m2; Cohen's d=0.10; p=0·45). Children in the MMM intervention group gained less BMI over 1 year than did children in the HE intervention group (−0·73 [–1·07 to −0·39] kg/m2, d=0.55); the same was true over 2 years (−0·63 [–1·13 to −0·14] kg/m2; d =0.33). No differential adverse events were observed. Interpretation: The MMM intervention did not reduce BMI gain versus HE over 3 years but the effects over 1 and 2 years in this rigorous trial show the promise of this systems intervention approach for reducing weight gain and cardiometabolic risk factors in low socioeconomic status communities. Funding: US National Institutes of Health

Dust in Supernovae and Supernova Remnants I : Formation Scenarios

Supernovae are considered as prime sources of dust in space. Observations of local supernovae over the past couple of decades have detected the presence of dust in supernova ejecta. The reddening of the high redshift quasars also indicate the presence of large masses of dust in early galaxies. Considering the top heavy IMF in the early galaxies, supernovae are assumed to be the major contributor to these large amounts of dust. However, the composition and morphology of dust grains formed in a supernova ejecta is yet to be understood with clarity. Moreover, the dust masses inferred from observations in mid-infrared and submillimeter wavelength regimes differ by two orders of magnitude or more. Therefore, the mechanism responsible for the synthesis of molecules and dust in such environments plays a crucial role in studying the evolution of cosmic dust in galaxies. This review summarises our current knowledge of dust formation in supernova ejecta and tries to quantify the role of supernovae as dust producers in a galaxy.Peer reviewe

Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age: Secondary Distance Indicators

The formal division of the distance indicators into primary and secondary leads to difficulties in description of methods which can actually be used in two ways: with, and without the support of the other methods for scaling. Thus instead of concentrating on the scaling requirement we concentrate on all methods of distance determination to extragalactic sources which are designated, at least formally, to use for individual sources. Among those, the Supernovae Ia is clearly the leader due to its enormous success in determination of the expansion rate of the Universe. However, new methods are rapidly developing, and there is also a progress in more traditional methods. We give a general overview of the methods but we mostly concentrate on the most recent developments in each field, and future expectations. © 2018, The Author(s)

UBVRI Light curves of 44 Type Ia supernovae

We present UBVRI photometry of 44 Type la supernovae (SNe la) observed from 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is the largest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SNe la to date, nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SNe la with published multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of [U-band photometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SNe la observed at high redshift. The decline rate of SN la U-band light curves correlates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U - B color at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show an increased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting for extinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ∼40% intrinsic scatter compared to the B band