72 research outputs found
Does neighborhood environment influence girls' pubertal onset? findings from a cohort study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pubertal onset occurs earlier than in the past among U.S. girls. Early onset is associated with numerous deleterious outcomes across the life course, including overweight, breast cancer and cardiovascular health. Increases in childhood overweight have been implicated as a key reason for this secular trend. Scarce research, however, has examined how neighborhood environment may influence overweight and, in turn, pubertal timing. The current study prospectively examined associations between neighborhood environment and timing of pubertal onset in a multi-ethnic cohort of girls. Body mass index (BMI) was examined as a mediator of these associations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Participants were 213 girls, 6-8 years old at baseline, in an on-going longitudinal study. The current report is based on 5 time points (baseline and 4 annual follow-up visits). Neighborhood environment, assessed at baseline, used direct observation. Tanner stage and anthropometry were assessed annually in clinic. Survival analysis was utilized to investigate the influence of neighborhood factors on breast and pubic hair onset, with BMI as a mediator. We also examined the modifying role of girls' ethnicity.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>When adjusting for income, one neighborhood factor (Recreation) predicted delayed onset of breast and pubic hair development, but only for African American girls. BMI did not mediate the association between Recreation and pubertal onset; however, these associations persisted when BMI was included in the models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>For African American girls, but not girls from other ethnic groups, neighborhood availability of recreational outlets was associated with onset of breast and pubic hair. Given the documented risk for early puberty among African American girls, these findings have important potential implications for public health interventions related to timing of puberty and related health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood.</p
Cardiovascular risk associated with the use of glitazones, metformin and sufonylureas: meta-analysis of published observational studies
A Prospective Study of Dietary Calcium and Other Nutrients and the Risk of Symptomatic Kidney Stones
A New Plant Wide Modelling Approach for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emission from Wastewater Treatment Plants
Recent studies about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions show that
sewer collection systems and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are anthropogenic
GHG potential sources. Therefore, they contribute to the climate change
and air pollution. This increasing interest towards climate change has led to the
development of new tools for WWTP design and management. This paper presents
the first results of a research project aiming at setting-up an innovative
mathematical model platform for the design and management of WWTPs. More
specifically, the study presents the projectâs strategy aimed at setting-up a
plant-wide mathematical model which can be used as a tool for reducing/
controlling GHG from WWTP. Such tool is derived from real data and
mechanicistic detailed models (namely, Activated Sludge Modelâs family). These
latter, although are a must inWWTPmodelling, hamper a comprehensive and easy
application due to complexity, computational time burdens and data demanding
for a robust calibration/application. This study presents a summary of the results
derived from detailed mechanistic models which have been applied to both water
and sludge line of a WWTP: primary treatment, biological reactor, secondary
settler, membrane bioreactor, sludge digester etc. The project is organized in
overall four research units (RUs) which focus each on precise WWTP units
- âŠ