Obesity prevalence from a European perspective: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity has been recognised as an important contributing factor in the development of various diseases, but comparative data on this condition are limited. We therefore aimed to identify and discuss current epidemiological data on the prevalence of obesity in European countries.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We identified relevant published studies by means of a MEDLINE search (1990–2008) supplemented by information obtained from regulatory agencies. We only included surveys that used direct measures of weight and height and were representative of each country's overall population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In Europe, the prevalence of obesity (body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m²) in men ranged from 4.0% to 28.3% and in women from 6.2% to 36.5%. We observed considerable geographic variation, with prevalence rates in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe being higher than those in Western and Northern Europe.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In Europe, obesity has reached epidemic proportions. The data presented in our review emphasise the need for effective therapeutic and preventive strategies.</p

3000 years of solitude: extreme differentiation in the island isolates of Dalmatia, Croatia

Communities with increased shared ancestry represent invaluable tools for genetic studies of complex traits. '1001 Dalmatians' research program collects biomedical information for genetic epidemiological research from multiple small isolated populations ('metapopulation') in the islands of Dalmatia, Croatia. Random samples of 100 individuals from 10 small island settlements (n<2000 inhabitants) were collected in 2002 and 2003. These island communities were carefully chosen to represent a wide range of distinct and well-documented demographic histories. Here, we analysed their genetic make-up using 26 short tandem repeat (STR) markers, at least 5 cM apart. We found a very high level of differentiation between most of these island communities based on Wright's fixation indexes, even within the same island. The model-based clustering algorithm, implemented in STRUCTURE, defined six clusters with very distinct genetic signatures, four of which corresponded to single villages. The extent of background LD, assessed with eight linked markers on Xq13-21, paralleled the extent of differentiation and was also very high in most of the populations under study. For each population, demographic history was characterised and 12 'demographic history' variables were tentatively defined. Following stepwise regression, the demographic history variable that most significantly predicted the extent of LD was the proportion of locally born grandparents. Strong isolation and endogamy are likely to be the main forces maintaining this highly structured overall population

Biodegradation of petroleum sludge and petroleum polluted soil by a bacterial consortium: a laboratory study

This article presents a study of the efficiency and degradation pattern of samples of petroleum sludge and polluted sandy soil from an oil refinery. A bacterial consortium, consisting of strains from the genera Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Bacillus and Micromonospora, was isolated from a petroleum sludge sample and characterized. The addition of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients and a chemical surfactant to both the samples and bioaugmentation to the soil sample were applied under laboratory conditions. The extent of biodegradation was monitored by the gravimetric method and analysis of the residual oil by gas chromatography. Over a 12-week experiment, the achieved degree of TPH (total petroleum hydrocarbon) degradation amounted to 82-88% in the petroleum sludge and 86-91% in the polluted soil. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was utilized to determine the biodegradability and degradation rates of n-alkanes, isoprenoids, steranes, diasteranes and terpanes. Complete degradation of the n-alkanes and isoprenoids fractions occurred in both the samples. In addition, the intensities of the peaks corresponding to tricyclic terpenes and homohopanes were decreased, while significant changes were also observed in the distribution of diasteranes and steranes

Replication of genetic variants from genome-wide association studies with metabolic traits in an island population of the Adriatic coast of Croatia

Twenty-two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 10 gene regions previously identified in obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were evaluated for association with metabolic traits in a sample from an island population of European descent. We performed a population-based study using 18 anthropometric and biochemical traits considered as continuous variables in a sample of 843 unrelated subjects (360 men and 483 women) aged 18–80 years old from the island of Hvar on the eastern Adriatic coast of Croatia. All eight GWAS SNPs in FTO were significantly associated with weight, body mass index, waist circumference and hip circumference; 20 of the 32 nominal P-values remained significant after permutation testing for multiple corrections. The strongest associations were found between the two TCF7L2 GWAS SNPs with fasting plasma glucose and HbA1c levels, all four P-values remained significant after permutation tests. Nominally significant associations were found between several SNPs and other metabolic traits; however, the significance did not hold after permutation tests. Although the sample size was modest, our study strongly replicated the association of FTO variants with obesity-related measures and TCF7L2 variants with T2D-related traits. The estimated effect sizes of these variants were larger or comparable to published studies. This is likely attributable to the homogenous genetic background of the relatively isolated study population

Biosynthesis of 2-aminooctanoic acid and its use to terminally modify a lactoferricin B peptide derivative for improved antimicrobial activity

Terminal modification of peptides is frequently used to improve their hydrophobicity. While N-terminal modification with fatty acids (lipidation) has been reported previously, C-terminal lipidation is limited as it requires the use of linkers. Here we report the use of a biocatalyst for the production of an unnatural fatty amino acid, (S)-2-aminooctanoic acid (2-AOA) with enantiomeric excess gt 98% ee and the subsequent use of 2-AOA to modify and improve the activity of an antimicrobial peptide. A transaminase originating from Chromobacterium violaceum was employed with a conversion efficiency 52-80% depending on the ratio of amino group donor to acceptor. 2-AOA is a fatty acid with amino functionality, which allowed direct C- and N-terminal conjugation respectively to an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) derived from lactoferricin B. The antibacterial activity of the modified peptides was improved by up to 16-fold. Furthermore, minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of C-terminally modified peptide were always lower than N-terminally conjugated peptides. The C-terminally modified peptide exhibited MIC values of 25 mu g/ml for Escherichia coli, 50 mu g/ml for Bacillus subtilis, 100 mu g/ml for Salmonella typhimurium, 200 mu g/ml for Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 400 mu g/ml for Staphylococcus aureus. The C-terminally modified peptide was the only peptide tested that showed complete inhibition of growth of S. aureus