Estimated vitamin D synthesis and dietary vitamin D intake among Asians in two distinct geographical locations (Kuala Lumpur, 3°N versus Aberdeen, 57°N) and climates

Objective: To compare the contributions of UVB exposure and diet to total vitamin D among Asians living in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Aberdeen (AB). Design: Longitudinal study. Setting: UVB exposure (using polysulfone film badges) and skin colour and dietary vitamin D intake (by web-based questionnaire) were measured at each season in AB and during south-west (SWM) and north-east monsoons (NEM) in KL. Subjects: One hundred and fifteen Asians in KL and eighty-five Asians in AB aged 20–50 years. Results: Median summer UVB exposure of Asians in AB (0·25 SED/d) was higher than UVB exposure for the KL participants (SWM=0·20 SED/d, P=0·02; NEM= 0·14 SED/d, P<0·01). UVB exposure was the major source of vitamin D in KL year-round (60%) but only during summer in AB (59%). Median dietary vitamin D intake was higher in AB (3·50 µg/d (140 IU/d)), year-round, than in KL (SWM=2·05 µg/d (82 IU/d); NEM=1·83 µg/d (73 IU/d), P<0·01). Median total vitamin D (UVB plus diet) was higher in AB only during summer (8·45 µg/d (338 IU/d)) compared with KL (SWM=6·03 µg/d (241 IU/d), P=0·04; NEM=5·35 µg/d (214 IU/d), P<0·01), with a comparable intake across the full year (AB=5·75 µg/d (230 IU/d); KL=6·15 µg/d (246 IU/d), P=0·78). Conclusions: UVB exposure among Asians in their home country is low. For Asians residing at the northerly latitude of Scotland, acquiring vitamin D needs from UVB exposure alone (except in summer) may be challenging due to low ambient UVB in AB (available only from April to October)

Haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels in newborn babies born to anaemic Iranian women: A cross-sectional study in an Iranian Hospital

The purpose of this study was to assess the haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels in newborn babies of anaemic mothers and to determine relationship between maternal iron status with neonatal biochemical and anthropometric characteristics. A total of 70 pregnant women aged between 17 and 40 years were divided into two groups based on their pre-delivery Haemoglobin (Hb) and Serum Ferritin (SF) concentrations; anaemic mothers Hb<11 g/dl and SF � 10 ng/ml; normal control group Hb � 11 g/dl and SF � 10 ng/ml. Maternal biochemical assessments were obtained before delivery and neonatal anthropometric and biochemical measurements were obtained immediately after delivery. Mean maternal haemoglobin and serum ferritin levels were 11.2±1.16 (g/dl) and 45.8±20.8 (ng/ml), respectively. Incidence of anaemia among Iranian pregnant women in this study was 51.4. Mean neonatal weight, length and head circumference born to anaemic mothers was 2.8±0.23 kg, 47.9±1.0 cm and 31.5±0.9 cm, respectively, while, among neonates born to normal mothers were 3.3±0.1 kg, 49.6±0.8 cm and 33.7±0.6 cm, respectively. No significant correlation were found between neonatal and maternal serum ferritin concentration. Significant differences were found between neonatal haemoglobin levels from normal and anaemic mothers (p<0.001). Maternal Hb level showed significant (p<0.001) positive correlation with neonatal birth weight (r = 0.729), length (r = 0.665) and head circumference (r = 0.762). However, similar positive correlations were not found between maternal serum ferritin concentration and pregnancy outcome. Neonatal haemoglobin levels were positively correlated with that of their mothers' (r = 0.423, p<0.001). In conclusion, this study showed that maternal haemoglobin concentration had strong influence on neonatal parameters. © Asian Network for Scientific Information, 2010

A century of trends in adult human height

Being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. We reanalysed 1472 population-based studies, with measurement of height on more than 18.6 million participants to estimate mean height for people born between 1896 and 1996 in 200 countries. The largest gain in adult height over the past century has occurred in South Korean women and Iranian men, who became 20.2 cm (95% credible interval 17.5-22.7) and 16.5 cm (13.3-19.7) taller, respectively. In contrast, there was little change in adult height in some sub-Saharan African countries and in South Asia over the century of analysis. The tallest people over these 100 years are men born in the Netherlands in the last quarter of 20th century, whose average heights surpassed 182.5 cm, and the shortest were women born in Guatemala in 1896 (140.3 cm; 135.8-144.8). The height differential between the tallest and shortest populations was 19-20 cm a century ago, and has remained the same for women and increased for men a century later despite substantial changes in the ranking of countries

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities 1,2 . This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity 3�6 . Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55 of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017�and more than 80 in some low- and middle-income regions�was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing�and in some countries reversal�of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories. © 2019, The Author(s)

Pengetahuan pengurusan berat badan di kalangan wanita bekerja di Kuala Lumpur

Obesity prevalence and body image consciousness are on the rise, and women often try to lose weight using a variety of methods. This paper reports the knowledge on body weight management amongst working women aged 30 – 45 years in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents comprised 131 school teachers and 122 civil servants. Anthropometric measurements included body weight and height; while knowledge on weight management was assessed using a questionnaire. The respondents were Malay (64%), Chinese (26%) and Indian women (10%) with mean age of 38.3 ± 4.6 years old. The respondents were grouped into two weight categories based on body mass index (BMI): normal weight (BMI 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2) and overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2). Mean body weight and BMI were significantly different (p < 0.001) between the two weight categories. Overweight and normal weight groups had mean body weight of 69.0 ± 9.5 kg and 53.5 ± 5.3 kg; while mean BMI were 29.2 ± 3.6 kg/ m2 dan 21.9 ± 1.7 kg/m2; respectively. Mean scores for knowledge on weight management were similar for both weight categories, 62.4 ± 13.7 and 61.8 ± 13.4 for overweight and normal weight, respectively. A majority of overweight (71%) and normal weight (73%) women had moderate level (scores 50–74%) of weight management knowledge. However, it was interesting to note that there were more overweight women (20%) who had high knowledge level(scores ≥ 75%) as compared to normal weight women (15%). Only 9% of overweight and 12% of normal weight women demonstrated low knowledge level (scores <50%). School teachers were significantly (p < 0.001) more knowledgeable than civil servants in weight management matters with mean knowledge scores of 65.5 ± 12.3 and 58.4 ± 13.9, respectively. On the whole, the results indicated that women were fairly knowledgeable in healthy body weight management. Knowledge on body weight management is essential for preventing comorbidity risks related to overweight problem. The study also revealed that there was a need for nutrition education related to body image and effective weight management

Identification of vaccine candidate antigens of an ESBL producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical strain by immunoproteome analysis

Proteomics63836-84

Source codes and simulation data for the finite element implementation of the conventional and localizing gradient damage methods in ABAQUS

10.1016/j.dib.2019.104533Data in Brief2610453

Haemoglobin and Serum Ferritin Levels in Newborn Babies Born to Anaemic Iranian Women: a Cross-Sectional Study in an Iranian Hospital

International audience(Com. 1er mars 2005, Thévenot c/ CGA, arrêt n° 319 FD, JCP 2005 éd. E.857, note E. Scholastique ; Com. 19 avr. 2005, SA Eurofactor c/ Michel, arrêt n° 03-13.787