Childhood Obesity and Early Adolescent Self Concept and Locus of Control: Application of Marginal Structural Modeling

Pediatric obesity has well established physical co-morbidities but less well established effects on self-esteem. Prior study present mixed results for associations between obesity and self-esteem, lack causal inference tools, and do not control for time-varying confounding of physical activity and prior obesity. The marginal structural model (MSM) may provide less biased estimates of causal effects of time-varying variables. Using the MSM, it is hypothesized that there will be no effect of childhood overweight/obesity on self-esteem related outcomes and that the previous associations are not causal. The data are the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 1998-1999, followed through 8th grade. MSM weights were constructed through wave-specific propensity weights from incorporating past obesity/physical activity and baseline confounders. The outcomes were Self-Concept, Locus of Control, and their composite scales scores at 8th grade. Average Overweight/obesity, Never, Ever, or Always overweight/obese exposures were regressed on the composite and separate scales. In the MSM results, there were no statistically significant (P<0.05) causal effects of overweight/obesity on Self Concept and/or Locus of Control. Always Overweight/Obese negative effects on composite scores were marginal (P=0.09), but not on separate scales. This study suggest that overweight/obesity does not have causal effects on self-concept/locus of control scores.Master of Public Healt

Nitrogen management for enhanced protein content in wheat in the Black Soil Zone

Non-Peer Reviewe

Editorial overview : theoretical traditions in social values for sustainability

This special feature provides an impression of the plurality of social values for sustainability, taking into account theoretical traditions within mainstream and heterodox economics; positive, social and environmental psychology; human geography; anthropology; sociology; religious and indigenous studies and business management. Papers in this issue respond to questions of: how do we conceptualise social values; how do we integrate or share social values; what are processes for learning about and mechanisms for forming and changing social values; and what are the associations between social values and behaviour or well-being? Consistent with post-normal science, we suggest that there is no one correct way of conceptualising, assessing, integrating or activating social values for sustainability. We present five arguments: (1) the plurality of social values can be conceptualised along many different dimensions, with reference to value, epistemic and procedural lenses; (2) values are nested in different hierarchies, resulting in the potential for different forms of value articulations and pathways of value expression; (3) not all social values are pre-formed and readily drawn upon, instead needing pathways of deliberation or intervention to be activated; (4) social values may change through different processes or pathways of intervention, and; (5) power matters in the formation and assessment of social values. We discuss the tensions that arise when attempting to integrate different perspectives and introduce the notion of ‘navigation’ to begin to address these tensions. Navigation requires scholars to adopt a more critical and reflexive approach to value enquiry than is currently espoused in sustainability science and practice.Non peer reviewe

Social learning as a link between the individual and the collective: evaluating deliberation on social values

The role of social learning in deliberative processes is an emerging area of research in sustainability science. Functioning as a link between the individual and the collective, social learning has been envisioned as a process that can empower and give voice to a diverse set of stakeholder viewpoints, contribute to more adaptive and resilient management decisions and foster broader societal transformations. However, despite its widespread use in the context of participatory management of natural resources, the empirical properties of social learning remain understudied. This paper evaluates the role of social interaction and social capital in achieving transformative learning in discussions about social values. We employ a longitudinal design involving three consecutive surveys of 25 participants of an expert workshop focused on social values, as well as approximately 12 hours of transcribed audio and video recordings of participant interactions. Our mixed methods approach demonstrates the potential of using changes in social networks and definitions of social values that emerge from qualitative coding as indicators of social learning. We find that individuals with a weaker conceptual understanding of social values are more likely to change their definitions of the concept after deliberation. Though slight, these changes display a shift towards definitions more firmly held by other group members.Peer reviewe

Salmonella enterica in Alberta Slaughter Hogs

Cecal samples were collected and cultured to determine the occurrence of Salmonella spp. in Alberta slaughter hogs. Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica was recovered from 211/602 samples yielding 282 individual isolates distributed among 37 serotypes. The 5 most common serotypes (California, lnfantis, Derby, Mbandanka and Worthington) comprised 68.4% of all isolates. Resistance to tetracycline, streptomycin, and sulfamethoxazole, were commonly identified. Resistance to 5 or more antibiotics was noted in 9.6% of all isolates, and only in serotypes Agona, California, Derby, Typhimurium var. Copenhagen DTl 04, and Worthington. This study has shown that 35% of Alberta slaughter hogs carry S. enterica subsp. enterica. Resistance by Salmonella spp. isolates to streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline, singly or in combination, was relatively frequent but multi-resistant isolates were less common

Presence of PCR artifacts in Sanger sequencing in Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue – experience in a collective of 990 advanced NSCLC

Background: Despite the rapid development of new molecular techniques such as Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), Sanger sequencing has been thus far the gold standard for mutation analysis. It is constantly used for daily routine diagnostics because it represents a quick and comprehensive available method for mutation analyses. Although Sanger sequencing is a good validated method, PCR artifacts may occur in formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) material. This constitutes a serious source of error. Aims: To assess the prevalence of typical and atypical EGFR mutations in exon 19 and 21 in a collective of 990 advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, focusing especially on methodological issues and challenges concerning mutation analysis, particularly PCR artifacts. Material and Methods: We examined 990 NSCLC (FFPE material) by Sanger sequencing for exon 19 and 21 of the EGFR gene. Four cases dropped out because of insufficient DNA quality (n =986). Results: Beside 101 typical exon 19 and 21 mutations (99 cases, two double mutations) we found 45 additional cases with distinct peaks at atypical positions in exon 19 and 21 in our first analysis. This would have implied a mutation rate of 14.6 %. Only six of these putative atypical mutations (all exon 21 and none of the exon 19 mutations) could be validated by repeated mutation analysis. All other peaks were not reproducible, therefore considered as PCR artifacts and consequently as wild type. Altogether we found 105 cases (107 mutations, 10.6 % of cases) with typical/atypical mutations in exon 19 and 21 of the EGFR gene. Conclusion: In our opinion it is in general important to detect and report all mutations even at atypical sites to discover their possible clinical relevance. However, one must always be aware of the possibility, reasons and prevention of PCR artifacts in FFPE tissue. Therefore, prior to reporting mutations at uncommon sites these must be validated by repeated analyses

Breeding for increased nitrogen-use efficiency: a review for wheat (T. aestivum L.)

Nitrogen fertilizer is the most used nutrient source in modern agriculture and represents significant environmental and production costs. In the meantime, the demand for grain increases and production per area has to increase as new cultivated areas are scarce. In this context, breeding for an efficient use of nitrogen became a major objective. In wheat, nitrogen is required to maintain a photosynthetically active canopy ensuring grain yield and to produce grain storage proteins that are generally needed to maintain a high end-use quality. This review presents current knowledge of physiological, metabolic and genetic factors influencing nitrogen uptake and utilization in the context of different nitrogen management systems. This includes the role of root system and its interactions with microorganisms, nitrate assimilation and its relationship with photosynthesis as postanthesis remobilization and nitrogen partitioning. Regarding nitrogen-use efficiency complexity, several physiological avenues for increasing it were discussed and their phenotyping methods were reviewed. Phenotypic and molecular breeding strategies were also reviewed and discussed regarding nitrogen regimes and genetic diversity