Forever-Fit Summer Camp: The Impact of a 6-Week Summer Healthy Lifestyle Day Camp on Anthropometric, Cardiovascular, and Physical Fitness Measures in Youth With Obesity

Pediatric obesity is a public health concern with lifestyle intervention as the first-line treatment. Forever-Fit Summer Camp (FFSC) is a 6-week summer day program offering physical activity, nutrition education, and well-balanced meals to youth at low cost. The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of this program that does not emphasize weight loss rather emphasizes healthy behaviors on body mass index, cardiovascular and physical fitness. Methods: The inclusion criteria were adolescents between 8 and 12 years and body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile. The data were collected at baseline and week 6 (wk-6) and was analyzed for 2013-2018 using paired-sample t tests. Results: The participants' (N = 179) average age was 10.6 ± 1.6 years with a majority of females (71%) and black race/ethnicity (70%). At wk-6, BMI and waist circumference decreased by 0.8 ± 0.7 kg/m2 and 1.0 ± 1.3 in, respectively. Resting heart rate, diastolic and systolic blood pressure decreased by 8.5 ± 11.0 bpm, 6.3 ± 8.8 mmHg, and 6.4 ± 10.1 mmHg, respectively. The number of pushups, curl-ups, and chair squats were higher by 5.8 ± 7.5, 6.7 ± 9.1, and 7.7 ± 8.5, respectively. Conclusion: The FFSC is efficacious for improving BMI, cardiovascular, and physical fitness in the short term. The effect of similar episodic efforts that implement healthy lifestyle modifications throughout the school year should be investigated

Alternative contingency table measures improve the power and detection of multifactor dimensionality reduction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (MDR) has been introduced previously as a non-parametric statistical method for detecting gene-gene interactions. MDR performs a dimensional reduction by assigning multi-locus genotypes to either high- or low-risk groups and measuring the percentage of cases and controls incorrectly labelled by this classification – the classification error. The combination of variables that produces the lowest classification error is selected as the best or most fit model. The correctly and incorrectly labelled cases and controls can be expressed as a two-way contingency table. We sought to improve the ability of MDR to detect gene-gene interactions by replacing classification error with a different measure to score model quality.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, we compare the detection and power of MDR using a variety of measures for two-way contingency table analysis. We simulated 40 genetic models, varying the number of disease loci in the model (2 – 5), allele frequencies of the disease loci (.2/.8 or .4/.6) and the broad-sense heritability of the model (.05 – .3). Overall, detection using NMI was 65.36% across all models, and specific detection was 59.4% versus detection using classification error at 62% and specific detection was 52.2%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Of the 10 measures evaluated, the likelihood ratio and normalized mutual information (NMI) are measures that consistently improve the detection and power of MDR in simulated data over using classification error. These measures also reduce the inclusion of spurious variables in a multi-locus model. Thus, MDR, which has already been demonstrated as a powerful tool for detecting gene-gene interactions, can be improved with the use of alternative fitness functions.</p

Seasonal Occurrence, Horizontal Movements, and Habitat Use Patterns of Whale Sharks (\u3ci\u3eRhincodon typus\u3c/i\u3e) in the Gulf of Mexico

In the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM), whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) form large aggregations at continental shelf-edge banks during summer; however, knowledge of movements once they leave aggregation sites is limited. Here we report on the seasonal occurrence of whale sharks in the northern GOM based on over 800 whale shark sightings from 1989 to 2016, as well as the movements of 42 whale sharks tagged with satellite-linked and popup satellite archival transmitting tags from 2008 to 2015. Sightings data were most numerous during summer and fall often with aggregations of individuals reported along the continental shelf break. Most sharks (66%) were tagged during this time at Ewing Bank, a known aggregation site off the coast of Louisiana. Whale shark track duration ranged from three to 366 days and all tagged individuals, which ranged from 4.5 to 12.0 m in total length, remained within the GOM. Sightings data revealed that whale sharks occurred primarily in continental shelf and shelf-edge waters (81%) whereas tag data revealed the sharks primarily inhabited continental slope and open ocean waters (91%) of the GOM. Much of their time spent in open ocean waters was associated with the edge of the Loop Current and associated mesoscale eddies. During cooler months, there was a net movement southward, corresponding with the time of reduced sighting reports. Several sharks migrated to the southwest GOM during fall and winter, suggesting this region could be important overwintering habitat and possibly represents another seasonal aggregation site. The three long-term tracked whale sharks exhibited interannual site fidelity, returning one year later to the vicinity where they were originally tagged. The increased habitat use of north central GOM waters by whale sharks as summer foraging grounds and potential interannual site fidelity to Ewing Bank demonstrate the importance of this region for this species

Intervention Delivery Matters: What Mothers at High Risk for Type 2 Diabetes Want in a Diabetes Prevention Program—Results from a Comparative Effectiveness Trial

Participants in the ENCOURAGE Healthy Families Study, a family-focused, modified Diabetes Prevention Program, reported challenges to and preferences for engaging in a diabetes prevention program. Challenges with flexible intervention delivery, accessibility, the traditional group-based format, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) exposure risk can be mitigated by participant preferences for one-on-one, virtual/online intervention delivery.This work was supported by the JPB Foundation, New York, NY and the IUPUI Signature Center Initiative Fund. Sponsors did not contribute to the writing of this report or in the decision to submit the article for publication. The Journal’s Rapid Service Fee is funded by the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Border Health Disparities

Short-Term Change in Measures of Glycemia in Obese Youth Meeting Criteria for Prediabetes: A Retrospective Chart Review

Background: The prevalence of youth diagnosed with prediabetes is increasing, yet there is a lack of guidelines on how to manage this condition clinically. Objectives: The aim was to determine the short-term outcomes of patients referred with prediabetes and to determine predictors of worsening dysglycemia in youth. Study Design: This is a retrospective chart review of patients referred to our Youth Diabetes Prevention Clinic (YDPC) with laboratory tests indicating an increased risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D). We defined glycemic categories by HbA1c with normoglycemia as HbA1c <5.7%, prediabetes I (P1) as HbA1c 5.7 to <6.0%, and prediabetes II (P2) as HbA1c 6.0 to <6.5%. We compared HbA1c at the time of referral (screening HbA1c) and at the YDPC visit (YDPC HbA1c) to assess for improvement or worsening. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess predictors of prediabetes. Results: Among 562 patients seen, 336 had both screening and YDPC HbA1c values. Race (p < 0.001) and screening glycemic category (p < 0.001) were significantly associated with dysglycemia at the YDPC visit, while sex (p = 0.50), BMI z-score change (p = 0.27), and days from referral (p = 0.83) were not. As compared to those who reverted to normoglycemia, patients with prediabetes at YDPC were 7 times more likely to have a higher screening HbA1c (both P1 and P2). The majority of patients referred with prediabetes had lower HbA1c at the YDPC (75.4–82.6%). Conclusion: Patients with screening HbA1c <6% might benefit from a 4-month follow-up at primary care while recommending lifestyle changes. Patients of minority race and screening HbA1c ≥6% are more likely to have a persistent elevation of HbA1c

Identification and replication of RNA-Seq gene network modules associated with depression severity

Genomic variation underlying major depressive disorder (MDD) likely involves the interaction and regulation of multiple genes in a network. Data-driven co-expression network module inference has the potential to account for variation within regulatory networks, reduce the dimensionality of RNA-Seq data, and detect significant geneexpression modules associated with depression severity. We performed an RNA-Seq gene co-expression network analysis of mRNA data obtained from the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of unmedicated MDD (n = 78) and healthy control (n = 79) subjects. Across the combined MDD and HC groups, we assigned genes into modules using hierarchical clustering with a dynamic tree cut method and projected the expression data onto a lower-dimensional module space by computing the single-sample gene set enrichment score of each module. We tested the singlesample scores of each module for association with levels of depression severity measured by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Scale (MADRS). Independent of MDD status, we identified 23 gene modules from the co-expression network. Two modules were significantly associated with the MADRS score after multiple comparison adjustment (adjusted p = 0.009, 0.028 at 0.05 FDR threshold), and one of these modules replicated in a previous RNA-Seq study of MDD (p = 0.03). The two MADRS-associated modules contain genes previously implicated in mood disorders and show enrichment of apoptosis and B cell receptor signaling. The genes in these modules show a correlation between network centrality and univariate association with depression, suggesting that intramodular hub genes are more likely to be related to MDD compared to other genes in a module

Physicians and Drug Representatives: Exploring the Dynamics of the Relationship

BACKGROUND: Interactions between physicians and drug representatives are common, even though research shows that physicians understand the conflict of interest between marketing and patient care. Little is known about how physicians resolve this contradiction. OBJECTIVE: To determine physicians’ techniques for managing cognitive inconsistencies within their relationships with drug representatives. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Six focus groups were conducted with 32 academic and community physicians in San Diego, Atlanta, and Chicago. MEASUREMENTS: Qualitative analysis of focus group transcripts to determine physicians’ attitudes towards conflict of interest and detailing, their beliefs about the quality of information conveyed and the impact on prescribing, and their resolution of the conflict between detailers’ desire to sell product and patient care. RESULTS: Physicians understood the concept of conflict of interest and applied it to relationships with detailers. However, they maintained favorable views of physician–detailer exchanges. Holding these mutually contradictory attitudes, physicians were in a position of cognitive dissonance. To resolve the dissonance, they used a variety of denials and rationalizations: They avoided thinking about the conflict of interest, they disagreed that industry relationships affected physician behavior, they denied responsibility for the problem, they enumerated techniques for remaining impartial, and they reasoned that meetings with detailers were educational and benefited patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although physicians understood the concept of conflict of interest, relationships with detailers set up psychological dynamics that influenced their reasoning. Our findings suggest that voluntary guidelines, like those proposed by most major medical societies, are inadequate. It may be that only the prohibition of physician–detailer interactions will be effective

Population Connectivity of Pelagic Megafauna in the Cuba-Mexico-United States Triangle

The timing and extent of international crossings by billfishes, tunas, and sharks in the Cuba-Mexico-United States (U.S.) triangle was investigated using electronic tagging data from eight species that resulted in \u3e22,000 tracking days. Transnational movements of these highly mobile marine predators were pronounced with varying levels of bi- or tri-national population connectivity displayed by each species. Billfishes and tunas moved throughout the Gulf of Mexico and all species investigated (blue marlin, white marlin, Atlantic bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna) frequently crossed international boundaries and entered the territorial waters of Cuba and/or Mexico. Certain sharks (tiger shark, scalloped hammerhead) displayed prolonged periods of residency in U.S. waters with more limited displacements, while whale sharks and to a lesser degree shortfin mako moved through multiple jurisdictions. The spatial extent of associated movements was generally associated with their differential use of coastal and open ocean pelagic ecosystems. Species with the majority of daily positions in oceanic waters off the continental shelf showed the greatest tendency for transnational movements and typically traveled farther from initial tagging locations. Several species converged on a common seasonal movement pattern between territorial waters of the U.S. (summer) and Mexico (winter)

The Prehistory of Potyviruses: Their Initial Radiation Was during the Dawn of Agriculture

Background: Potyviruses are found world wide, are spread by probing aphids and cause considerable crop damage. Potyvirus is one of the two largest plant virus genera and contains about 15% of all named plant virus species. When and why did the potyviruses become so numerous? Here we answer the first question and discuss the other. Methods and Findings: We have inferred the phylogenies of the partial coat protein gene sequences of about 50 potyviruses, and studied in detail the phylogenies of some using various methods and evolutionary models. Their phylogenies have been calibrated using historical isolation and outbreak events: the plum pox virus epidemic which swept through Europe in the 20th century, incursions of potyviruses into Australia after agriculture was established by European colonists, the likely transport of cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus in cowpea seed from Africa to the Americas with the 16th century slave trade and the similar transport of papaya ringspot virus from India to the Americas. Conclusions/Significance: Our studies indicate that the partial coat protein genes of potyviruses have an evolutionary rate of about 1.1561024 nucleotide substitutions/site/year, and the initial radiation of the potyviruses occurred only about 6,600 years ago, and hence coincided with the dawn of agriculture. We discuss the ways in which agriculture may have triggered the prehistoric emergence of potyviruses and fostered their speciation