Relationships among Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon–DNA Adducts, Proximity to the World Trade Center, and Effects on Fetal Growth

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic pollutants released by the World Trade Center (WTC) fires and various urban combustion sources. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a representative member of the class of PAHs. PAH–DNA adducts, or BaP–DNA adducts as their proxy, provide a measure of chemical-specific genetic damage that has been associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes and cancer. To learn whether PAHs from the WTC disaster increased levels of genetic damage in pregnant women and their newborns, we analyzed BaP–DNA adducts in maternal (n = 170) and umbilical cord blood (n = 203) obtained at delivery from nonsmoking women who were pregnant on 11 September 2001 and were enrolled at delivery at three downtown Manhattan hospitals. The mean adduct levels in cord and maternal blood were highest among newborns and mothers who resided within 1 mi of the WTC site during the month after 11 September, intermediate among those who worked but did not live within this area, and lowest in those who neither worked nor lived within 1 mi (reference group). Among newborns of mothers living within 1 mi of the WTC site during this period, levels of cord blood adducts were inversely correlated with linear distance from the WTC site (p = 0.02). To learn whether PAHs from the WTC disaster may have affected birth outcomes, we analyzed the relationship between these outcomes and DNA adducts in umbilical cord blood, excluding preterm births to reduce variability. There were no independent fetal growth effects of either PAH–DNA adducts or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), but adducts in combination with in utero exposure to ETS were associated with decreased fetal growth. Specifically, a doubling of adducts among ETS-exposed subjects corresponded to an estimated average 276-g (8%) reduction in birth weight (p = 0.03) and a 1.3-cm (3%) reduction in head circumference (p = 0.04). The findings suggest that exposure to elevated levels of PAHs, indicated by PAH–DNA adducts in cord blood, may have contributed to reduced fetal growth in women exposed to the WTC event

The 3′ Splice Site of Influenza A Segment 7 mRNA Can Exist in Two Conformations: A Pseudoknot and a Hairpin

The 3′ splice site of influenza A segment 7 is used to produce mRNA for the M2 ion-channel protein, which is critical to the formation of viable influenza virions. Native gel analysis, enzymatic/chemical structure probing, and oligonucleotide binding studies of a 63 nt fragment, containing the 3′ splice site, key residues of an SF2/ASF splicing factor binding site, and a polypyrimidine tract, provide evidence for an equilibrium between pseudoknot and hairpin structures. This equilibrium is sensitive to multivalent cations, and can be forced towards the pseudoknot by addition of 5 mM cobalt hexammine. In the two conformations, the splice site and other functional elements exist in very different structural environments. In particular, the splice site is sequestered in the middle of a double helix in the pseudoknot conformation, while in the hairpin it resides in a two-by-two nucleotide internal loop. The results suggest that segment 7 mRNA splicing can be controlled by a conformational switch that exposes or hides the splice site

Malandragem and Ginga: Socio-cultural constraints on the development of expertise and skills in Brazilian football

In an ecological dynamics rationale, the development of expertise in sports is shaped by interactions of personal, task and environmental constraints. A notable outcome of this process is the distinctive performance styles of athletes shaped by socio-cultural-historical constraints. To understand this process, we examined the role of socio-cultural constraints shaping the development of skill in Brazilian football players at the macrosystem level. A range of data sources were inductively generated and analysed through the qualitative interpretative paradigm, including historical contextual analysis, participant observation, and unstructured interviews. Malandragem (i.e., cunning) emerged as a major focus and our findings suggested that behavioural characteristics, such as mischief and deception, are common attributes valued by many elite Brazilian footballers. Our analysis suggests how the value system of Malandragem is a product of the socio-cultural constraints primarily influenced by the Mulattos’ cultural traditions, historically interacting with particular socio-economic conditions. In Brazil, Malandragem can manifest itself through the Ginga (i.e., body sway) playing style in which footballers move deceptively to gain competitive advantages over opponents. Whilst the theatrical antics of contemporary Malandros (i.e., tricksters and/or streetwise persons), such as Neymar Junior, are frowned upon by many football critics, we argue that some aspects of being Malandro may be contributing to the development of a high level of perceptual-motor and cognitive functioning that has underpinned the Ginga playing style in Brazilian football for many decades

Do Gonadotropins Influence Serum Lipoprotein(a) Concentrations? Observations on Children, Adolescents and Adults

Peer Reviewe

Influência dos estágios de maturação sexual no estado nutricional, antropometria e composição corporal de adolescentes Influence of the stages of sexual maturation in the nutritional status, anthropometrics and corporal composition of adolescents

Os fenômenos puberais apresentam variabilidade no que diz respeito às idades de início e término, à velocidade e magnitude com que se expressam e as suas inter-relações. Tais fenômenos influenciam as modificações antropométricas e de composição corporal que caracterizam o processo de crescimento e desenvolvimento da adolescência. O artigo tem como objetivo analisar a influência dos estágios de maturação sexual, no estado nutricional, antropometria e composição corporal de adolescentes de ambos os sexos. A revisão de literatura foi realizada utilizando-se os termos "Adolescent, Puberty and Body Composition", por meio de consulta na base de dados do HighWire Press®. Trabalhou-se com artigos publicados desde janeiro de 1995 até julho de 2006, incluindo, outros relevantes ao tema, publicados anteriormente. Na adolescência, para se avaliar o estado nutricional e as modificações antropométricas e de composição corporal, é de extrema importância a consideração não somente da idade cronológica, mas também do estágio de maturação sexual. Cabe ressaltar as consideráveis dificuldades metodológicas existentes nos estudos acerca do estadiamento pubertário. Destaca-se a importância da realização de mais estudos, no sentido de elucidar a influência dos estágios de maturação sexual na evolução dos parâmetros antropométricos e de composição corporal, possibilitando a construção e utilização sistemática de referências que considerem o desenvolvimento pubertário.<br>Puberty phenomena concerning ages of onset and ending, speed and magnitude of expression, and interrelations are variable. Such phenomena influence anthropometric and body composition changes characterizing the process of growth and development during adolescence. This article has the objective of analyzing the influence of sexual maturing status on nutritional status, anthropometry and body composition in adolescents of both sexes. Literature review was accomplished through the use of the terms "Adolescent, Puberty and Body Composition" through consultation to the HighWire Press® database. Articles published from January 1995 to July 2006 were utilized, including others previously published and relevant to the subject. To assess nutritional status, anthropometric and body composition changes, during adolescence it is extremely important that consideration is not restricted to chronological age but extended to sexual maturity as well. The considerable methodological difficulties related to puberty staging should be emphasized. There is a need to accomplish further studies to clarify sexual maturing staging in anthropometric and body composition parameters, enabling systematic building and use of references considering puberty development