Peruvian Parents Perceptions of Children's Obesity

Although parents are critical to childhood obesity prevention, little is known about Peruvian parents' perceptions regarding childhood obesity, a country undergoing an emerging obesity epidemic. The study assessed Peruvian parents' perceptions regarding their children's obesity risks and behaviors. The specific objectives were to: (a) assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of parents regarding nutrition and physical activity of their preschool-aged children, and (b) assess parents’ ability to recognize overweight status in their children. Methods: The cross-sectional study surveyed 202 parents of preschool children (Mean age= 49.4 months, SD = 8.5) in the peri-urban slum communities of Lima, Peru utilizing a modified version of the Behavior and Attitudes Questionnaire for Healthy Habits (BAQ-HH) questionnaire. Children's body mass index (BMI) was compared with parental descriptions of the child's weight. Results: Nearly half (41.3%) of children had exceeded healthy weight (defined as BMI- for-age Z- score >-2 and £1). Parents demonstrated high knowledge, positive behaviors, and concerned attitudes. Parental knowledge and attitude scores predicted parental behavior scores (p=0.004). More than half (56.6%) accurately perceived their child's weight. However, 90.4% of parents of overweight/obese children underestimated their weight. Conclusions: Understanding Peruvian parents' perceptions of their children's obesity risk is essential to planning comprehensive interventions

Intersection of Place, Working Parents and Food Assistance: Implications for Preventing Child and Adolescent Obesity

Background/Purpose: The cumulative effects of the environment, educational system, and social injustices contribute to child health disparities. Collectively, these factors create barriers to national efforts aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Thus, behavioral, social, and cultural contributing factors were examined. Methods: Parents and guardians of Texas (n=714) children were interviewed by telephone using the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH). Weight status and variables of interest were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Based on parental response, Hispanic children were more likely to be overweight/obese (p =0.002). Child recipients of food stamps had higher obesity rates (p- =0.011). Parents with less than a high school education had significantly more overweight/obese children (50% and 56% respectively, p <0.001). Children who did not have at least one parent employed were more often obese/overweight (p <0.001). Uninsured children (p =0.014), uninsured in past 12 months (p =0.032) and public insurance use (p < 0.001) were more likely to be obese/overweight. Conclusion: Ethnicity, low-income, education, unemployment and food stamp use are associated with increased risk for obesity. Intervention programs for low income families should be guided by social ecology and family system theories to facilitate changes in the home environment to support healthier lifestyles

The experiences of medical students with dyslexia: an interpretive phenomenological study

This article explores the experiences of UK medical students with dyslexia, using an interpretive phenomenological approach. This project began with a review of the literature, highlighting a void of qualitative research. We then conducted a collaborative autoethnography. This paper forms the next stage in this series of research. We aimed to to elicit meaning and understanding from the lived experiences of our participants. Eight UK junior doctors with dyslexia were interviewed over the telephone in an in-depth, unstructured manner. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed with the aid of a template analysis. Experiences of helplessness and hopelessness were common. These may be a result of a fear of stigmatization, and personal feelings of inadequacy. They may also be fuelled by the incidents of bullying and belittling from other medical students that were reported. An important meta-theme was of fear and lack of understanding. A lack of pastoral support was also reported. Their experiences of medical school assessments are also reported. More may need to be done to educate teachers and clinical supervisors on dyslexia

Alcohol-induced retrograde facilitation renders witnesses of crime less suggestible to misinformation

RATIONALE: Research has shown that alcohol can have both detrimental and facilitating effects on memory: intoxication can lead to poor memory for information encoded after alcohol consumption (anterograde amnesia) and may improve memory for information encoded before consumption (retrograde facilitation). This study examined whether alcohol consumed after witnessing a crime can render individuals less vulnerable to misleading post-event information (misinformation). METHOD: Participants watched a simulated crime video. Thereafter, one third of participants expected and received alcohol (alcohol group), one third did not expect but received alcohol (reverse placebo), and one third did not expect nor receive alcohol (control). After alcohol consumption, participants were exposed to misinformation embedded in a written narrative about the crime. The following day, participants completed a cued-recall questionnaire about the event. RESULTS: Control participants were more likely to report misinformation compared to the alcohol and reverse placebo group. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that we may oversimplify the effect alcohol has on suggestibility and that sometimes alcohol can have beneficial effects on eyewitness memory by protecting against misleading post-event information

Aster Models with Random Effects via Penalized Likelihood

1 online resource (PDF, 61 pages

Shallow-water scleractinian corals of Ascension Island, Central South Atlantic

The presence of five shallow-water scleractinian species at Ascension Island is confirmed, i.e. Favia gravida, Madracis sp., Siderastrea radians, Polycyathus atlanticus and Rhizosmilia gerdae. The three former are zooxanthellate, the two latter azooxanthellate. A sixth species, Cladocora debilis (azooxanthellate), dredged from moderately deep water is also expected to occur in shallow water. Madracis sp. and P. atlanticus are new records for the island. A previous record of Astrangia solitaria at Ascension is now referred to as P. atlanticus. Favia gravida, S. radians and C. debilis are amphi-Atlantic. Rhizosmilia gerdae is currently known only from Ascension Island and the Western Atlantic. None of the species are endemic to Ascension Island. No member of the family Dendrophylliidae has as yet been found at Ascension, whereas that family is represented at its nearest neighbour, St Helena Island.Darwin Initiative [EIDCF012]; Regional Council of Brittany; European Funds (ERDF); 'Laboratoire d'Excellence' LabexMER [ANR-10-LABX-19]; French government under the programme 'Investissements d'Avenir'info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Activation-induced killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 3DL2 binding to HLA-B27 licenses pathogenic T cell differentiation in spondyloarthritis

Objective In the spondyloarthritides (SpA), increased numbers of CD4+ T cells express killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor 3DL2 (KIR-3DL2). The aim of this study was to determine the factors that induce KIR-3DL2 expression, and to characterize the relationship between HLA–B27 and the phenotype and function of KIR-3DL2–expressing CD4+ T cells in SpA. Methods In total, 34 B27+ patients with SpA, 28 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (20 B27− and 8 B27+), and 9 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied. KIR-3DL2 expression and other phenotypic characteristics of peripheral blood and synovial fluid CD4+ T cells were studied by flow cytometry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blotting. T cell receptor clonality was determined by template-switch anchored reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and sequencing analysis. Cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Cellular activation induced KIR-3DL2 expression on both naive and effector CD4+ T cells. KIR-3DL2 binding to B27+ cells promoted expression of KIR-3DL2, the Th17-specific transcription factor retinoic acid receptor–related orphan nuclear receptor γt, and the antiapoptotic factor B cell lymphoma 2. KIR-3DL2+CD4+ T cells in patients with ankylosing spondylitis were oligoclonal and enriched for markers of T cell activation and for the gut homing receptor CCR9. In the presence of B27+ antigen-presenting cells, KIR-3DL2+CD4+ T cells produced less interleukin-2 (IL-2) but more IL-17. This effect was blocked by HC10, an antibody that inhibits the binding of KIR-3DL2 to B27 heavy chains. Conclusion KIR-3DL2 binding to HLA–B27 licenses Th17 cell differentiation in SpA. These findings raise the therapeutic potential of targeting HLA–B27–KIR-3DL2 interactions for the treatment of B27+ patients with SpA

The Transcription Factor AP-1 Is Required for EGF-induced Activation of Rho-like GTPases, Cytoskeletal Rearrangements, Motility, and In Vitro Invasion of A431 Cells

Human squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) frequently express elevated levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). EGFR overexpression in SCC-derived cell lines correlates with their ability to invade in an in vitro invasion assay in response to EGF, whereas benign epidermal cells, which express low levels of EGFR, do not invade. EGF-induced invasion of SCC-derived A431 cells is inhibited by sustained expression of the dominant negative mutant of c-Jun, TAM67, suggesting a role for the transcription factor AP-1 (activator protein-1) in regulating invasion. Significantly, we establish that sustained TAM67 expression inhibits growth factor–induced cell motility and the reorganization of the cytoskeleton and cell-shape changes essential for this process: TAM67 expression inhibits EGF-induced membrane ruffling, lamellipodia formation, cortical actin polymerization and cell rounding. Introduction of a dominant negative mutant of Rac and of the Rho inhibitor C3 transferase into A431 cells indicates that EGF-induced membrane ruffling and lamellipodia formation are regulated by Rac, whereas EGF-induced cortical actin polymerization and cell rounding are controlled by Rho. Constitutively activated mutants of Rac or Rho introduced into A431 or A431 cells expressing TAM67 (TA cells) induce equivalent actin cytoskeletal rearrangements, suggesting that the effector pathways downstream of Rac and Rho required for these responses are unimpaired by sustained TAM67 expression. However, EGF-induced translocation of Rac to the cell membrane, which is associated with its activation, is defective in TA cells. Our data establish a novel link between AP-1 activity and EGFR activation of Rac and Rho, which in turn mediate the actin cytoskeletal rearrangements required for cell motility and invasion