Preconditioning with sevoflurane decreases PECAM-1 expression and improves one-year cardiovascular outcome in coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Background. Cardiac preconditioning is thought to be involved in the observed decreased coronary artery reocclusion rate in patients with angina preceding myocardial infarction. We prospectively examined whether preconditioning by sevoflurane would decrease late cardiac events in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Methods. Seventy-two patients scheduled for elective CABG surgery were randomized to preconditioning by sevoflurane (10 min at 4 vol%) or placebo. For all patients, follow-up of adverse cardiac events was obtained 6 and 12 months after surgery. Transcript levels for platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1/CD31), catalase and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) were determined in atrial biopsies after sevoflurane preconditioning. Results. Pharmacological preconditioning by sevoflurane reduced the incidence of late cardiac events during the first year after CABG surgery (sevoflurane 3% vs 17% in the placebo group, log-rank test, P=0.038). One patient in the sevoflurane group and three patients in the placebo group experienced new episodes of congestive heart failure and three additional patients had coronary artery reocclusion. Perioperative peak concentrations for myocardial injury markers were higher in patients with subsequent late cardiac events [NTproBNP, 9031 (4125) vs 3049 (1906) ng litre−1, P<0.001; cTnT, 1.31 (0.88) vs 0.46 (0.29) µg litre−1, P<0.001]. Transcript levels were reduced for PECAM-1 and increased for catalase but unchanged for Hsp70 in atrial biopsies after sevoflurane preconditioning. Conclusions. This prospective randomized clinical study provides evidence of a protective role for pharmacological preconditioning by sevoflurane in late cardiac events in CABG patients, which may be related to favourable transcriptional changes in pro- and antiprotective protein

Parental Feeding Practices in Mexican American Families: Initial Test of an Expanded Measure

Background: Although obesity rates are high among Latino children, relatively few studies of parental feeding practices have examined Latino families as a separate group. Culturally-based approaches to measurement development can begin to identify parental feeding practices in specific cultural groups. This study used qualitative and quantitative methods to develop and test the Parental Feeding Practices (PFP) Questionnaire for use with Mexican American parents. Items reflected both parent’s use of control over child eating and child-centered feeding practices. Methods: In the qualitative phase of the research, 35 Latino parents participated in focus groups. Items for the PFP were developed from focus group discussions, as well as adapted from existing parent feeding practice measures. Cognitive interviews were conducted with 37 adults to evaluate items. In the quantitative phase, mothers and fathers of 174 Mexican American children ages 8–10 completed the PFP and provided demographic information. Anthropometric measures were obtained on family members. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses identified four parental feeding practice dimensions: positive involvement in child eating, pressure to eat, use of food to control behavior, and restriction of amount of food. Factorial invariance modeling suggested equivalent factor meaning and item response scaling across mothers and fathers. Mothers and fathers differed somewhat in their use of feeding practices. All four feeding practices were related to child body mass index (BMI) percentiles, for one or both parents. Mothers reporting more positive involvement had children with lower BMI percentiles. Parents using more pressure to eat had children with lower BMI percentiles, while parents using more restriction had children with higher BMI percentiles. Fathers using food to control behavior had children with lower BMI percentiles. Conclusions: Results indicate good initial validity and reliability for the PFP. It can be used to increase understanding of parental feeding practices, children’s eating, and obesity among Mexican Americans, a population at high risk of obesity

Thiols as markers of redox status in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is associated with inflammation and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Systemically, free thiols (R-SH) can be oxidized by ROS and circulating R-SH concentrations may directly reflect the systemic redox status. In this study the association between R-SH and clinical parameters of T1DM, including glycated haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), was investigated. This is of particular interest since thiols are amendable to therapeutic intervention. Methods: As part of a prospective cohort study, data from 216 patients with a mean age of 45 (12) years, 57% male, diabetes duration 22 (16, 30) years and HbA1c of 60 (11) mmol/mol were examined. Baseline data were collected in 2002 and follow-up data in 2018. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis, with age, sex, HbA1c and R-SH, was used to assess prognostic factors for the development of complications. Results: At baseline, the plasma concentration of R-SH was 281.8 ± 34.0 μM. In addition to a lower concentration of NT-proBNP in the highest R-SH quartile (305–379 µM) there were no differences in baseline characteristics between the quartiles of R-SH. The Pearson correlation coefficient for R-SH and NT-proBNP was −0.290 (p &lt; 0.001). No significant correlation between R-SH and baseline HbA1c (r = −0.024, p = 0.726) was present. During follow-up, 42 macrovascular and 92 microvascular complications occurred. In Cox regression, R-SH was not a prognostic factor for the development of microvascular [hazard ratio (HR) 0.999 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.993, 1.005)] and macrovascular [HR 0.993 (95% CI 0.984, 1.002)] complications. Conclusions: In addition to a negative association with NT-proBNP, no relevant relationships between R-SH and parameters of T1DM, including HbA1c, were present in this study.</p

Parental Feeding Practices and Child Weight Status in Mexican American Families: A Longitudinal Analysis

Parental feeding practices are thought to influence children\u27s weight status, through children\u27s eating behavior and nutritional intake. However, because most studies have been cross-sectional, the direction of influence is unclear. Moreover, although obesity rates are high among Latino children, few studies of parental feeding practices have focused on this population. This 2-year longitudinal study examined mutual influences over time between parental feeding practices and children\u27s weight status, in Mexican American families with children 18 years old at baseline. Mothers (n = 322) and fathers (n = 182) reported on their feeding practices at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. Weight status, defined by waist-height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI), was ascertained at all assessments. Cross-lagged panel models were used to examine the mutual influences of parental feeding practices and child weight status over time, controlling for covariates. Both mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 restriction of food predicted higher subsequent child weight status at Year 1, and for fathers this effect was also found at Year 2. Mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 pressure to eat predicted lower weight status among boys, but not girls, at Year 1. Child weight status also predicted some parental feeding practices: boys\u27 heavier weight predicted mothers\u27 less pressure to eat at Year 1, less use of food to control behavior at Year 2, and greater restriction at Year 2; and girls\u27 heavier weight at Year 1 predicted fathers\u27 less pressure to eat and less positive involvement in child eating at Year 2. This study provides longitudinal evidence that some parental feeding practices influence Mexican American children\u27s weight status, and that children\u27s weight status also influences some parental feeding practices. Feeding practices of both mothers and fathers were related to children\u27s weight status, underscoring the importance of including fathers in research on parental feeding practices and child obesity

Mother-Reported Sleep, Accelerometer-Estimated Sleep, and Weight Status in Mexican American Children: Sleep Duration Is Associated with Increased Adiposity and Risk for Overweight/Obese Status

We know of no studies comparing parent-reported sleep with accelerometer-estimated sleep in their relation to pediatric adiposity. We examined: 1) the reliability of mother-reported sleep compared with accelerometer-estimated sleep, and 2) the relationship between both sleep measures and child adiposity. The current cross-sectional study included 304 Mexican American mother-child pairs recruited from Kaiser Permanente Northern California. We measured sleep duration, using maternal report and accelerometry, and child anthropometrics. Concordance between sleep measures was evaluated using the Bland-Altman method. We conducted zero-ordered correlations between mother-reported sleep, accelerometer-estimated sleep and child BMI z-scores (BMIz). Using linear regression, we examined three models to assess child BMIz with mother-reported sleep (model 1), accelerometer-estimated sleep (model 2), and both sleep measures (model 3). Children had an average age of 8.86 years (SD= .82). Mothers reported that their child slept 9.81 ± 0.74 (95% CI: 9.72, 9.89) hours, compared to 9.58 ± 0.71 (95% CI: 9.50, 9.66) hours based on accelerometry. Mother-reported sleep and accelerometer-estimated sleep were correlated (r = 0.33, p \u3c 0.001). BMIz outcomes were negatively associated with mother-reported sleep duration (model 1: β = −0.13; P = .02) and accelerometer-estimated sleep duration (model 2: β = −0.17; P \u3c .01). Accounting for both sleep measures, only accelerometer-measured sleep was related to BMIz (model 3: β = −0.14, P = .02). Each sleep measure was significantly related to adiposity, independent of covariates. Accelerometry appeared to be a more reliable measure of children’s sleep than maternal report, yet maternal report may be sufficient to examine the sleep-adiposity relationship when resources are limited

Parental feeding practices and child weight status in Mexican American families: a longitudinal analysis

Parental feeding practices are thought to influence children\u27s weight status, through children\u27s eating behavior and nutritional intake. However, because most studies have been cross-sectional, the direction of influence is unclear. Moreover, although obesity rates are high among Latino children, few studies of parental feeding practices have focused on this population. This 2-year longitudinal study examined mutual influences over time between parental feeding practices and children\u27s weight status, in Mexican American families with children 18 years old at baseline. Mothers (n = 322) and fathers (n = 182) reported on their feeding practices at baseline, 1-year follow-up, and 2-year follow-up. Weight status, defined by waist-height ratio (WHtR) and body mass index (BMI), was ascertained at all assessments. Cross-lagged panel models were used to examine the mutual influences of parental feeding practices and child weight status over time, controlling for covariates. Both mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 restriction of food predicted higher subsequent child weight status at Year 1, and for fathers this effect was also found at Year 2. Mothers\u27 and fathers\u27 pressure to eat predicted lower weight status among boys, but not girls, at Year 1. Child weight status also predicted some parental feeding practices: boys\u27 heavier weight predicted mothers\u27 less pressure to eat at Year 1, less use of food to control behavior at Year 2, and greater restriction at Year 2; and girls\u27 heavier weight at Year 1 predicted fathers\u27 less pressure to eat and less positive involvement in child eating at Year 2. This study provides longitudinal evidence that some parental feeding practices influence Mexican American children\u27s weight status, and that children\u27s weight status also influences some parental feeding practices. Feeding practices of both mothers and fathers were related to children\u27s weight status, underscoring the importance of including fathers in research on parental feeding practices and child obesity

Finding apparent horizons and other two-surfaces of constant expansion

Apparent horizons are structures of spacelike hypersurfaces that can be determined locally in time. Closed surfaces of constant expansion (CE surfaces) are a generalisation of apparent horizons. I present an efficient method for locating CE surfaces. This method uses an explicit representation of the surface, allowing for arbitrary resolutions and, in principle, shapes. The CE surface equation is then solved as a nonlinear elliptic equation. It is reasonable to assume that CE surfaces foliate a spacelike hypersurface outside of some interior region, thus defining an invariant (but still slicing-dependent) radial coordinate. This can be used to determine gauge modes and to compare time evolutions with different gauge conditions. CE surfaces also provide an efficient way to find new apparent horizons as they appear e.g. in binary black hole simulations.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures; two references adde

Longitudinal Effects of Parental, Child and Neighborhood Factors on Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity and Sedentary Time in Latino Children

Background: Moderate-vigorous physical activity (%MVPA) confers beneficial effects on child musculoskeletal health, cardiovascular fitness, and psychosocial well-being; in contrast, sedentary time (%SED) is emerging as a risk factor for health. This study aimed to identify parental, child and neighborhood factors influencing longitudinal assessments of body mass index (BMI) and activity patterns among Latino children, and to estimate lagged and cross-lagged effects between child BMI, %MVPA and %SED. Methods: A longitudinal design with assessments at baseline, 1 and 2 years follow-up (FU) was used to evaluate the effects of maternal and paternal factors (BMI, age, education level, acculturation, household income and household size), child factors (gender, age, BMI, pubertal status) and neighborhood factors (disorder, victimization) on child BMI, %MVPA and %SED, expressed as a percent of awake time, in 282 Latino children ages 8–10 y and their parents. This study was restricted to families with a mother and biological father or father figure in the child’s life. Results: Across time, total daily accelerometer counts (p = 0.04) and steps decreased (p = 0.0001), %SED increased (p = 0.0001), and %MVPA decreased (p = 0.02). Moderate lagged effects or tracking was seen for %MVPA and %SED (p = 0.001). %MVPA varied by gender (5.5% higher in boys than girls, p = 0.0001); child age (−0.4% per year, p = 0.03), and child BMI in boys only (−0.22%, p = 0.0002). Negative effects of paternal age, maternal education and maternal changes in BMI on %MVPA also were seen. %SED increased with child age (2.5% higher per year, p = 0.0001). Positive effects of paternal acculturation, maternal change in BMI, paternal age, and negative effects of household size on %SED were observed. A cross-lagged positive effect of BMI at FU1 on %SED at FU2 was observed for boys and girls (p = 0.03). Neighborhood disorder and victimization were not significant predictors of child BMI, %MVPA or %SED. Conclusion: The major child determinants of physical activity (age, gender and BMI) and minor parental influences (maternal BMI and education, paternal age and acculturation) should be considered in designing interventions to promote %MVPA and reduce %SED among Latino children as they approach adolescence. Keywords: Physical activity patterns, Accelerometers, Childhood obesity, Maternal factors, Paternal factors, Education level, Acculturation, Household income, Household size, Environment, Disorder, Victimizatio