Academic Performance and Behavioral Patterns

Identifying the factors that influence academic performance is an essential part of educational research. Previous studies have documented the importance of personality traits, class attendance, and social network structure. Because most of these analyses were based on a single behavioral aspect and/or small sample sizes, there is currently no quantification of the interplay of these factors. Here, we study the academic performance among a cohort of 538 undergraduate students forming a single, densely connected social network. Our work is based on data collected using smartphones, which the students used as their primary phones for two years. The availability of multi-channel data from a single population allows us to directly compare the explanatory power of individual and social characteristics. We find that the most informative indicators of performance are based on social ties and that network indicators result in better model performance than individual characteristics (including both personality and class attendance). We confirm earlier findings that class attendance is the most important predictor among individual characteristics. Finally, our results suggest the presence of strong homophily and/or peer effects among university students

Secular Trends in the Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Sicilian Schoolchildren Aged 11–13 Years During the Last Decade

The present study evaluates trends in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in relation to gender and area of residence between two cohorts of students aged 11–13 years in Sicily. The analysis was performed on 1,839 schoolchildren, with 924 and 915 children being studied in 1999–2001 and 2009–2010, respectively. The children who were enrolled during 2009–2010 had significantly higher body mass indexes (BMI), BMI z-scores, and waist circumferences than the children who were studied during 1999–2001 (p<0.0001 for all); these differences was also observed when the cohort was subdivided according to gender or residence area The prevalence of obesity increased significantly from 7.9% in 1999–2001 to 13.7% in 2009–2010 (p<0.0001), whereas thinness decreased significantly from 10.1% to 2.3% (p<0.0001) in the same periods. The increase of trends in the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in males (9.7% vs. 17.6%, p = 0.0006) than in females (6.3% vs. 9.8%, p = 0.04) and was slightly higher in urban areas (8.8% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.002) than in rural areas (7.8% vs. 13.0%, p = 0.012). The male gender was associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese (odds ratio: 1.63; 95% confidence intervals: 1.24–2.15; p = 0.0005) in 2009–2010 than in 1999–2001, after adjusting for age and the residence area. In conclusion, this study showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Sicilian schoolchildren during the last decade and that this trend was related to gender, age and the area of residence. More specifically, our data indicated that the prevalence of obesity increased by 5.8%, the prevalence of thinness decreased by 7.8% and the prevalence of normal-weight children did not change over the course of a decade. These results suggest a shift in the body weights of Sicilian children toward the upper percentiles

Child Fitness and Father’s BMI Are Important Factors in Childhood Obesity: A School Based Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: This study examines obesity and factors associated with obesity in children aged 11-13 years in the UK. METHODS: 1147 children from ten secondary schools participated in a health survey that included blood samples, fitness test and anthropometric measures. Factors associated with obesity were examined using multilevel logistic regression. FINDINGS: Of the children examined (490 male; 657 female) a third were overweight, 1 in 6 had elevated blood pressure, more than 1 in 10 had high cholesterol, 58% consumed more fat than recommended, whilst 37% were classified as unfit. Children in deprived areas had a higher proportion of risk factors; for example, they had higher blood pressure (20% (deprived) compared to 11% (non-deprived), difference: 9.0% (95%CI: 4.7%-13.4%)). Obesity is associated with risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Maintaining fitness is associated with a reduction in the risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure and cholesterol) but not on risk factors for diabetes (insulin levels). In order of importance, the main risk factors for childhood obesity are being unfit, having an obese father, and being large at birth. CONCLUSION: The high proportion of children with risk factors suggests future interventions need to focus on community and policy change to shift the population norm rather than targeting the behaviour of high risk individuals. Interventions need to focus on mothers' lifestyle in pregnancy, fathers' health, as well as promoting fitness among children. Obesity was not associated with deprivation. Therefore, strategies should be adopted in both deprived and non deprived areas

Evolution of High Trophic Diversity Based on Limited Functional Disparity in the Feeding Apparatus of Marine Angelfishes (f. Pomacanthidae)

The use of biting to obtain food items attached to the substratum is an ecologically widespread and important mode of feeding among aquatic vertebrates, which rarely has been studied. We did the first evolutionary analyses of morphology and motion kinematics of the feeding apparatus in Indo-Pacific members of an iconic family of biters, the marine angelfishes (f. Pomacanthidae). We found clear interspecific differences in gut morphology that clearly reflected a wide range of trophic niches. In contrast, feeding apparatus morphology appeared to be conserved. A few unusual structural innovations enabled angelfishes to protrude their jaws, close them in the protruded state, and tear food items from the substratum at a high velocity. Only one clade, the speciose pygmy angelfishes, showed functional departure from the generalized and clade-defining grab-and-tearing feeding pattern. By comparing the feeding kinematics of angelfishes with wrasses and parrotfishes (f. Labridae) we showed that grab-and-tearing is based on low kinematics disparity. Regardless of its restricted disparity, the grab-and-tearing feeding apparatus has enabled angelfishes to negotiate ecological thresholds: Given their widely different body sizes, angelfishes can access many structurally complex benthic surfaces that other biters likely are unable to exploit. From these surfaces, angelfishes can dislodge sturdy food items from their tough attachments. Angelfishes thus provide an intriguing example of a successful group that appears to have evolved considerable trophic diversity based on an unusual yet conserved feeding apparatus configuration that is characterized by limited functional disparity

Metabolite profiling in retinoblastoma identifies novel clinicopathological subgroups

BACKGROUND: Tumour classification, based on histopathology or molecular pathology, is of value to predict tumour behaviour and to select appropriate treatment. In retinoblastoma, pathology information is not available at diagnosis and only exists for enucleated tumours. Alternative methods of tumour classification, using noninvasive techniques such as magnetic resonance spectroscopy, are urgently required to guide treatment decisions at the time of diagnosis. METHODS: High-resolution magic-angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy (HR-MAS MRS) was undertaken on enucleated retinoblastomas. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis of the HR-MAS MRS data was used to identify tumour subgroups. Individual metabolite concentrations were determined and were correlated with histopathological risk factors for each group. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis identified three metabolic subgroups of retinoblastoma, with the most discriminatory metabolites being taurine, hypotaurine, total-choline and creatine. Metabolite concentrations correlated with specific histopathological features: taurine was correlated with differentiation, total-choline and phosphocholine with retrolaminar optic nerve invasion, and total lipids with necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated that a metabolite-based classification of retinoblastoma can be obtained using ex vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and that the subgroups identified correlate with histopathological features. This result justifies future studies to validate the clinical relevance of these subgroups and highlights the potential of in vivo MRS as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for retinoblastoma patient stratification

Effectiveness of school food environment policies on children's dietary behaviors: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: School food environment policies may be a critical tool to promote healthy diets in children, yet their effectiveness remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To systematically review and quantify the impact of school food environment policies on dietary habits, adiposity, and metabolic risk in children. METHODS: We systematically searched online databases for randomized or quasi-experimental interventions assessing effects of school food environment policies on children's dietary habits, adiposity, or metabolic risk factors. Data were extracted independently and in duplicate, and pooled using inverse-variance random-effects meta-analysis. Habitual (within+outside school) dietary intakes were the primary outcome. Heterogeneity was explored using meta-regression and subgroup analysis. Funnel plots, Begg's and Egger's test evaluated potential publication bias. RESULTS: From 6,636 abstracts, 91 interventions (55 in US/Canada, 36 in Europe/New Zealand) were included, on direct provision of healthful foods/beverages (N = 39 studies), competitive food/beverage standards (N = 29), and school meal standards (N = 39) (some interventions assessed multiple policies). Direct provision policies, which largely targeted fruits and vegetables, increased consumption of fruits by 0.27 servings/d (n = 15 estimates (95%CI: 0.17, 0.36)) and combined fruits and vegetables by 0.28 servings/d (n = 16 (0.17, 0.40)); with a slight impact on vegetables (n = 11; 0.04 (0.01, 0.08)), and no effects on total calories (n = 6; -56 kcal/d (-174, 62)). In interventions targeting water, habitual intake was unchanged (n = 3; 0.33 glasses/d (-0.27, 0.93)). Competitive food/beverage standards reduced sugar-sweetened beverage intake by 0.18 servings/d (n = 3 (-0.31, -0.05)); and unhealthy snacks by 0.17 servings/d (n = 2 (-0.22, -0.13)), without effects on total calories (n = 5; -79 kcal/d (-179, 21)). School meal standards (mainly lunch) increased fruit intake (n = 2; 0.76 servings/d (0.37, 1.16)) and reduced total fat (-1.49%energy; n = 6 (-2.42, -0.57)), saturated fat (n = 4; -0.93%energy (-1.15, -0.70)) and sodium (n = 4; -170 mg/d (-242, -98)); but not total calories (n = 8; -38 kcal/d (-137, 62)). In 17 studies evaluating adiposity, significant decreases were generally not identified; few studies assessed metabolic factors (blood lipids/glucose/pressure), with mixed findings. Significant sources of heterogeneity or publication bias were not identified. CONCLUSIONS: Specific school food environment policies can improve targeted dietary behaviors; effects on adiposity and metabolic risk require further investigation. These findings inform ongoing policy discussions and debates on best practices to improve childhood dietary habits and health

Rapid Weight Gain in Pediatric Refugees after US Immigration

Prior studies of immigrants to the United States show significant weight gain after 10 years of US residence. Pediatric refugees are a vulnerable population whose post-immigration weight trajectory has not been studied. We examined the longitudinal weight trajectory of 1067 pediatric refugees seen in a single university based refugee health program between the dates of September 3, 2012 and September 3, 2014 to determine how quickly significant weight gain occurs post-arrival. The most recent BMI was abstracted from the electronic health record and charts reviewed to obtain serial BMI measurements in 3 year increments after the date of US arrival. The mean arrival BMI percentile for all refugees was 47th percentile. This increased significantly to the 63rd percentile within 3 years of US arrival (p < 0.01). This rapid increase was largely attributable to African and South and Southeast Asian refugees. The overall prevalence of age and sex adjusted obesity rose from 7.4 % at arrival to 18.3 % within 9 years of US immigration exceeding the pediatric US national obesity prevalence of 16.9 %. Pediatric refugees are at increased risk of rapid weight gain after US immigration. Targeted interventions focused on prevention of weight gain in specific populations are warranted.12 month embargo; First Online: 08 July 2016This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]