Physical activity, smoking, and genetic predisposition to obesity in people from Pakistan:the PROMIS study

Background: Multiple genetic variants have been reliably associated with obesity-related traits in Europeans, but little is known about their associations and interactions with lifestyle factors in South Asians. Methods: In 16,157 Pakistani adults (8232 controls; 7925 diagnosed with myocardial infarction [MI]) enrolled in the PROMIS Study, we tested whether: a) BMI-associated loci, individually or in aggregate (as a genetic risk score - GRS), are associated with BMI; b) physical activity and smoking modify the association of these loci with BMI. Analyses were adjusted for age, age(2), sex, MI (yes/no), and population substructure. Results: Of 95 SNPs studied here, 73 showed directionally consistent effects on BMI as reported in Europeans. Each additional BMI-raising allele of the GRS was associated with 0.04 (SE = 0.01) kg/m(2) higher BMI (P = 4.5 x 10(-14)). We observed nominal evidence of interactions of CLIP1 rs11583200 (P-interaction = 0.014), CADM2 rs13078960 (P-interaction = 0.037) and GALNT10 rs7715256 (P-interaction = 0.048) with physical activity, and PTBP2 rs11165643 (P-interaction = 0.045), HIP1 rs1167827 (P-interaction = 0.015), C6orf106 rs205262 (P-interaction = 0.032) and GRID1 rs7899106 (P-interaction = 0.043) with smoking on BMI. Conclusions: Most BMI-associated loci have directionally consistent effects on BMI in Pakistanis and Europeans. There were suggestive interactions of established BMI-related SNPs with smoking or physical activity

Water quality, nutrient dynamics and sediment profile in shrimp farms of the Sundarbans mangrove forest, Bangladesh

170-176Investigation was carried out to observe the sediment-water characteristics and nutrient budget of traditional shrimp farms during January- December 2000. Most of the water quality parameters between inlet and outlet of shrimp farms were similar, but transparency, turbidity, total suspended solid (TSS), phytoplankton and zooplankton concentration and primary productivity were significantly (p < 0.05) different within inlet and outlet. Pollution indicator parameter, chemical oxygen demand (COD) was more or less similar between these two points indicating less or no chance of coastal eutrophication from shrimp farm effluent. Nutrient balance due to water exchange showed that about 44.15 kg of nitrogen (N)/ha/culture cycle and 27.25 kg of phosphorus (P)/ha/culture cycle were being deposited into the bottom sediment. Most of the sediment parameters between mangrove and shrimp farms were similar, except calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K) and sulphur (S). Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Organic matter (OM) contents were low in the sediment sample indicating the sediment status poor and needs improvement through proper fertilization

Microbiological and biochemical characteristics of Canestrato Pugliese cheese made from raw milk, pasteurized milk or by heating the curd in hot whey

Canestrato Pugliese cheeses were produced from raw ewes’ milk R and R cheeses , pasteurized ewes’ milk P cheese . Ž . Ž . II and by heating the curd in hot whey according to a traditional protocol T cheese . R differed from R cheese mainly by having been produced from raw milk with a higher number of somatic cells, 950.000 vs. 750.000 mly1 , respectively. II Compared to P and T cheeses, R and R cheeses had a higher concentration one or two orders of magnitude of Ž . cheese-related bacteria such as adventitious mesophilic lactobacilli, enterococci and staphylococci. At the end of ripening, all cheeses contained less than 1.0 log cfu gy1 of total and fecal coliforms, and Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were not detected. As shown by phenotypic identification and RAPD-PCR, R cheese contained the largest number of mesophilic lactobacilli species and the greatest diversity of strains within the Lactobacillus plantarum species. Primary proteolysis did not differ appreciably among the cheeses. On the contrary, both urea-PAGE and the RP-HPLC analyses of the water-soluble N fractions showed the more complex profiles in cheeses produced by raw milks. R and R II cheeses had the highest values of water-soluble Nrtotal N ca. 30% and the highest concentration of total free amino acids ca. 40 mg Ž . Ž y1 g which approached or exceeded those reported for Italian cheeses with very high level of proteolysis during ripening. . The main differences between R–R II and P–T cheeses were the concentrations of aspartic acid, proline, alanine, isoleucine, histidine and lysine. The water-soluble extracts of R and R II cheeses contained levels of amino-, imino- and di-peptidase activities, which were about twice those found in P and T cheeses. Cheeses differed slightly in the concentration of total free fatty acids that ranged between 1673 and 1651 mg kgy1 in R and R II cheeses, and 1397 and 1334 mg kgy1 in P and T cheeses. Butyric, caproic, capric, palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids were found at the highest concentrations

Antibiotics usage practices in aquaculture in Bangladesh and their associated factors

Background Irrational and inappropriate use of antibiotics in aquaculture can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. Objectives In this study, we aimed to assess antibiotic usage in inland and coastal fish farms in Bangladesh and identify factors associated with this practice. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study to collect antibiotic usage information from 672 fish farmers in Bangladesh. The frequency of use, the types of antibiotics, the purpose of usage, and antibiotic prescribing practices were estimated. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) were calculated to measure the association between antibiotic usage and factors related to the characteristics of the farms and farmers using multivariable logistic regression models. Results Twenty-two farms reported using antibiotics in the last 24 h preceding the interview (3%, 95% CI: 2–5%); 36 farms (5%, 95% CI: 4–7%) in the last 72 h, 141 farms (21%, 95% CI: 18–24%) in the last 14 days, and 478 farms (71%, 68–75%) reported antibiotic usage at least once since the start of their production cycle. Antibiotics usage in the last 14 days preceding the interviews was higher in freshwater fish farms (98%) than in brackish water farms (2%). Oxytetracycline, ciprofloxacin, and amoxicillin were the most frequently used antibiotics. Most of the antibiotics were reported to be used for both therapeutic and prophylactic purposes (71%, 95% CI: 63–78%). Antibiotics used within the last 14 days were mainly advised by feed dealers or drug sellers (51%, 95% CI: 43–60%), followed by farmers themselves (31%, 95% CI: 23–38%) and local service providers (18%, 95% CI, 12–25%). Fish farms having history of antibiotic use within the last 14 days preceding interviews was significantly associated with illness in fish (aOR 1.98, 95% CI:1.21–3.29) compared to farms with healthy fish and fishes cultured in ponds (aOR 9.34, 95% CI: 3.69–23.62) compared to enclosure cultures. Conclusions Improvement of fish health through better farming practices and changes in feed dealers' and farmers' attitudes towards self-prescription of antibiotic without veterinarian diagnostics may help to reduce the levels of antibiotic usage and thus contribute to mitigating antimicrobial resistance

Surface hydration and cationic sites of nanohydroxyapatites with amorphous or crystalline surfaces: A comparative study

This paper is an extension of previous work devoted to the characterization of platelet-like hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles constituted by a crystalline core coated by an amorphous surface layer 1-2 nm thick (Bertinetti et al. J. Phys. Chem. C. 2007, 111, 4027 -4035). By increasing the preparation temperature, the platelet morphology was retained but HA nanoparticles exhibited a higher degree of crystallinity (evaluated by X-ray diffractometry). High-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that, in this case, the crystalline order was extended up to the particles' surfaces, which were of the (010), (100), and (001) types. IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the surface hydration of both materials, in terms of adsorbed H2O molecules and surface hydroxy groups, as well as the Lewis acidity of surface cations, by removing water and adsorbing CO. For both features, strong similarities between amorphous and crystalline surfaces were found

Prey ecology and behaviour affect foraging strategies in the Great Cormorant

The Wne link between a particular dive pattern and a speciWc prey item represents a challenging task in the analysis of marine predator\u2013prey relationships. There is growing evidence that prey type aVects diving seabirds\u2019 foraging strategies, dive shapes and underwater activity costs. This study investigates whether a generalist diver, the Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, modiWes the time budget allocated to prey-capture behaviour and breathing strategies (reactive vs. anticipatory) with respect to the prey type (pelagic vs. benthic). Video recordings of 91 Great Cormorants show how the ecology and behaviour of their main prey, Mullets (Mugilidae) and Flounders Platichthys Xesus, aVect dive/surface durations and the diving pattern. The demersal habit and the low mobility of Flounders leads to an easy access to prey with an anticipatory strategy. Moreover, the patchy distribution of this Wsh species increases prey-capture rates. Conversely, Mullets exploit the whole water column and are highly mobile, and this is reXected in the need of performing two sequential dives to capture a prey, both longer and likely more expensive, with a consequent switch of strategy from reactive in the searching phase to anticipatory breathing during prey-capture events. This study provides evidence that a generalist diver may switch between diVerent foraging strategies, and it shows how each of them may be optimal under particular ecological conditions. These constraints inXuence the dynamics that operate within the marine food chains and have relevant implications in managing lagoon areas, including Wsh ponds