Social disparities in food preparation behaviours: a DEDIPAC study

BACKGROUND: The specific role of major socio-economic indicators in influencing food preparation behaviours could reveal distinct socio-economic patterns, thus enabling mechanisms to be understood that contribute to social inequalities in health. This study investigated whether there was an independent association of each socio-economic indicator (education, occupation, income) with food preparation behaviours. METHODS: A total of 62,373 adults participating in the web-based NutriNet-Santé cohort study were included in our cross-sectional analyses. Cooking skills, preparation from scratch and kitchen equipment were assessed using a 0-10-point score; frequency of meal preparation, enjoyment of cooking and willingness to cook better/more frequently were categorical variables. Independent associations between socio-economic factors (education, income and occupation) and food preparation behaviours were assessed using analysis of covariance and logistic regression models stratified by sex. The models simultaneously included the three socio-economic indicators, adjusting for age, household composition and whether or not they were the main cook in the household. RESULTS: Participants with the lowest education, the lowest income group and female manual and office workers spent more time preparing food daily than participants with the highest education, those with the highest income and managerial staff (P < 0.0001). The lowest educated individuals were more likely to be non-cooks than those with the highest education level (Women: OR = 3.36 (1.69;6.69); Men: OR = 1.83 (1.07;3.16)) while female manual and office workers and the never-employed were less likely to be non-cooks (OR = 0.52 (0.28;0.97); OR = 0.30 (0.11;0.77)). Female manual and office workers had lower scores of preparation from scratch and were less likely to want to cook more frequently than managerial staff (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001). Women belonging to the lowest income group had a lower score of kitchen equipment (P < 0.0001) and were less likely to enjoy cooking meal daily (OR = 0.68 (0.45;0.86)) than those with the highest income. CONCLUSION: Lowest socio-economic groups, particularly women, spend more time preparing food than high socioeconomic groups. However, female manual and office workers used less raw or fresh ingredients to prepare meals than managerial staff. In the unfavourable context in France with reduced time spent preparing meals over last decades, our findings showed socioeconomic disparities in food preparation behaviours in women, whereas few differences were observed in men

Conceiving “personality”: Psychologist’s challenges and basic fundamentals of the Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science Paradigm for Research on Individuals

Scientists exploring individuals, as such scientists are individuals themselves and thus not independent from their objects of research, encounter profound challenges; in particular, high risks for anthropo-, ethno- and ego-centric biases and various fallacies in reasoning. The Transdisciplinary Philosophy-of-Science Paradigm for Research on Individuals (TPS-Paradigm) aims to tackle these challenges by exploring and making explicit the philosophical presuppositions that are being made and the metatheories and methodologies that are used in the field. This article introduces basic fundamentals of the TPS-Paradigm including the epistemological principle of complementarity and metatheoretical concepts for exploring individuals as living organisms. Centrally, the TPS-Paradigm considers three metatheoretical properties (spatial location in relation to individuals’ bodies, temporal extension, and physicality versus “non-physicality”) that can be conceived in different forms for various kinds of phenomena explored in individuals (morphology, physiology, behaviour, the psyche, semiotic representations, artificially modified outer appearances and contexts). These properties, as they determine the phenomena’s accessibility in everyday life and research, are used to elaborate philosophy-of-science foundations and to derive general methodological implications for the elementary problem of phenomenon-methodology matching and for scientific quantification of the various kinds of phenomena studied. On the basis of these foundations, the article explores the metatheories and methodologies that are used or needed to empirically study each given kind of phenomenon in individuals in general. Building on these general implications, the article derives special implications for exploring individuals’ “personality”, which the TPS-Paradigm conceives of as individual-specificity in all of the various kinds of phenomena studied in individuals

Phosphodiesterase-4 Inhibition Alters Gene Expression and Improves Isoniazid – Mediated Clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Rabbit Lungs

Tuberculosis (TB) treatment is hampered by the long duration of antibiotic therapy required to achieve cure. This indolent response has been partly attributed to the ability of subpopulations of less metabolically active Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) to withstand killing by current anti-TB drugs. We have used immune modulation with a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor, CC-3052, that reduces tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production by increasing intracellular cAMP in macrophages, to examine the crosstalk between host and pathogen in rabbits with pulmonary TB during treatment with isoniazid (INH). Based on DNA microarray, changes in host gene expression during CC-3052 treatment of Mtb infected rabbits support a link between PDE4 inhibition and specific down-regulation of the innate immune response. The overall pattern of host gene expression in the lungs of infected rabbits treated with CC-3052, compared to untreated rabbits, was similar to that described in vitro in resting Mtb infected macrophages, suggesting suboptimal macrophage activation. These alterations in host immunity were associated with corresponding down-regulation of a number of Mtb genes that have been associated with a metabolic shift towards dormancy. Moreover, treatment with CC-3052 and INH resulted in reduced expression of those genes associated with the bacterial response to INH. Importantly, CC-3052 treatment of infected rabbits was associated with reduced ability of Mtb to withstand INH killing, shown by improved bacillary clearance, from the lungs of co-treated animals compared to rabbits treated with INH alone. The results of our study suggest that changes in Mtb gene expression, in response to changes in the host immune response, can alter the responsiveness of the bacteria to antimicrobial agents. These findings provide a basis for exploring the potential use of adjunctive immune modulation with PDE4 inhibitors to enhance the efficacy of existing anti-TB treatment

The evolution of the plastid chromosome in land plants: gene content, gene order, gene function

This review bridges functional and evolutionary aspects of plastid chromosome architecture in land plants and their putative ancestors. We provide an overview on the structure and composition of the plastid genome of land plants as well as the functions of its genes in an explicit phylogenetic and evolutionary context. We will discuss the architecture of land plant plastid chromosomes, including gene content and synteny across land plants. Moreover, we will explore the functions and roles of plastid encoded genes in metabolism and their evolutionary importance regarding gene retention and conservation. We suggest that the slow mode at which the plastome typically evolves is likely to be influenced by a combination of different molecular mechanisms. These include the organization of plastid genes in operons, the usually uniparental mode of plastid inheritance, the activity of highly effective repair mechanisms as well as the rarity of plastid fusion. Nevertheless, structurally rearranged plastomes can be found in several unrelated lineages (e.g. ferns, Pinaceae, multiple angiosperm families). Rearrangements and gene losses seem to correlate with an unusual mode of plastid transmission, abundance of repeats, or a heterotrophic lifestyle (parasites or myco-heterotrophs). While only a few functional gene gains and more frequent gene losses have been inferred for land plants, the plastid Ndh complex is one example of multiple independent gene losses and will be discussed in detail. Patterns of ndh-gene loss and functional analyses indicate that these losses are usually found in plant groups with a certain degree of heterotrophy, might rendering plastid encoded Ndh1 subunits dispensable

La filiere crevetticole de Java Est Mise en evidence des dysfonctionnements

Available at INIST (FR), Document Supply Service, under shelf-number : 22543, issue : a.1994 n.40 / INIST-CNRS - Institut de l'Information Scientifique et TechniqueSIGLEFRFranc

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease due to SAP/SH2D1A deficiency: a multicenter study on the manifestations, management and outcome of the disease.

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP1) is a rare immunodeficiency characterized by severe immune dysregulation and caused by mutations in the SH2D1A/SAP gene. Clinical manifestations are varied and include hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), lymphoma and dysgammaglobulinemia, often triggered by Epstein-Barr virus infection. Historical data published before improved treatment regimens shows very poor outcome. We describe a large cohort of 91 genetically defined XLP1 patients collected from centers worldwide and report characteristics and outcome data for 43 patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and 48 untransplanted patients. The advent of better treatment strategies for HLH and malignancy has greatly reduced mortality for these patients, but HLH still remains the most severe feature of XLP1. Survival after allogeneic HSCT is 81.4% with good immune reconstitution in the large majority of patients and little evidence of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease. However, survival falls to 50% in patients with HLH as a feature of disease. Untransplanted patients have an overall survival of 62.5% with the majority on immunoglobulin replacement therapy, but the outcome for those untransplanted after HLH is extremely poor (18.8%). HSCT should be undertaken in all patients with HLH, because outcome without transplant is extremely poor. The outcome of HSCT for other manifestations of XLP1 is very good, and if HSCT is not undertaken immediately, patients must be monitored closely for evidence of disease progression

Modulation of peripheral T-cell function by interleukin-7 in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction: Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a cytokine essential for T-cell lymphopoiesis, survival and polarization with an emerging role in autoimmunity. We previously demonstrated reduced levels of circulating IL-7 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), although high amounts are expressed in joints, suggesting differences between systemic and synovial effects. We observed healthy levels of IL-7 in 48% of RA patients in clinical remission (CR) and aimed to investigate the consequences of IL-7 deficiency on T-cell responses. Methods: We used RA patients with active disease and in CR presenting various levels of IL-7, to investigate its modulatory effects on T cells by analysing responses to phyto-haemagglutinin (PHA), expression of polarization or survival factors, or suppression by regulatory T cells (Tregs). Results: IL-7 levels were normal (>10 pg/ml) in 48% of RA patients in CR. Amongst 63 CR patients followed up for 18 months, lack of IL-7 recovery was observed in 13 out of 15 (86%) patients experiencing relapse but only 11 out of 48 (23%) of those who did not (P = 0.0002). Binary regressions showed high significance for below normal IL-7 levels for self-reported maternal family history of arthritis (odds ratio (OR): 7.66, P = 0.006) and a trend for smoking (OR: 3.33, P = 0.068) with no further demographic or clinical associations. Serum IL-7 correlated with restored CD4+T-cell response to PHA (rho = 0.879). this was not related to an increase in T-cell proliferation capacity or expression of survival factors B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) and BCL2-associated protein X (BAX). Expression of Th1 polarization factor (TBET) was also dependent on exposure to IL-7 in vivo (rho = 0.600). In contrast CD25highTregs' response to PHA was not affected by in vivo IL-7, but their suppression capabilities were related to circulating IL-7 (rho = 0.589). Co-stimulation with IL-7 (mimicking the joint environment) increased responsiveness of CD4+T-cells to PHA, lowering the ability of CD25highTregs to suppress them. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that IL-7 has a critical role in modulating T-cell function in vivo, possibly explaining opposing effects observed systemically and in the joint. Lack of IL-7 recovery in CR by maintaining a suppressed immune system may be a determinant factor in the occurrence of relapse

Longitudinal changes of tau PET imaging in relation to hypometabolism in prodromal and Alzheimer's disease dementia

The development of tau-specific positron emission tomography (PET) tracers allows imaging in vivo the regional load of tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Eighteen patients with baseline investigations enroled in a 17-month follow-up study, including 16 with AD (10 had mild cognitive impairment and a positive amyloid PET scan, that is, prodromal AD, and six had AD dementia) and two with corticobasal syndrome. All patients underwent PET scans with [(18)F]THK5317 (tau deposition) and [(18)F]FDG (glucose metabolism) at baseline and follow-up, neuropsychological assessment at baseline and follow-up and a scan with [(11)C]PIB (amyloid-β deposition) at baseline only. At a group level, patients with AD (prodromal or dementia) showed unchanged [(18)F]THK5317 retention over time, in contrast to significant decreases in [(18)F]FDG uptake in temporoparietal areas. The pattern of changes in [(18)F]THK5317 retention was heterogeneous across all patients, with qualitative differences both between the two AD groups (prodromal and dementia) and among individual patients. High [(18)F]THK5317 retention was significantly associated over time with low episodic memory encoding scores, while low [(18)F]FDG uptake was significantly associated over time with both low global cognition and episodic memory encoding scores. Both patients with corticobasal syndrome had a negative [(11)C]PIB scan, high [(18)F]THK5317 retention with a different regional distribution from that in AD, and a homogeneous pattern of increased [(18)F]THK5317 retention in the basal ganglia over time. These findings highlight the heterogeneous propagation of tau pathology among patients with symptomatic AD, in contrast to the homogeneous changes seen in glucose metabolism, which better tracked clinical progression.Molecular Psychiatry advance online publication, 16 May 2017; doi:10.1038/mp.2017.108