Supplementary Material for: Evaluating Weight Status and Sex as Moderators of the Association of Serum Leptin with Bone Mineral Density in Children and Adolescents

<p><i>Background/Aims:</i> Animal studies suggest that leptin may adversely affect bone mineral density (BMD). Clinical studies have yielded conflicting results. We therefore investigated associations between leptin and bone parameters in children. <i>Methods:</i> 830 healthy children (age = 11.4 ± 3.1 years; 75% female; BMI standard deviation score [BMIz] = 1.5 ± 1.1) had fasting serum leptin measured with ELISA and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The main effects for leptin and BMIz plus leptin’s interactions with sex and BMIz were examined using hierarchical linear regressions for appendicular, pelvis, and lumbar spine BMD as well as bone mineral content (BMC), and bone area (BA). <i>Results:</i> Accounting for demographic, pubertal development, and anthropometric variables, leptin was negatively and independently associated with lumbar spine BMC and BA, pelvis BA, and leg BA (<i>p</i> < 0.05 for all). Sex, but not BMIz, moderated the associations of leptin with bone parameters. In boys, leptin was negatively correlated with leg and arm BMD, BMC at all bone sites, and BA at the subtotal and lumbar spine (<i>p</i> < 0.01 for all). In girls, leptin was positively correlated with leg and arm BMD (<i>p</i> < 0.05 for both). <i>Conclusion:</i>Independent of body size, leptin is negatively associated with bone measures; however, these associations are moderated by sex: boys, but not girls, have a negative independent association between leptin and BMD.
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Total daily energy expenditure has declined over the past three decades due to declining basal expenditure, not reduced activity expenditure.

Obesity is caused by a prolonged positive energy balance &lt;sup&gt;1,2&lt;/sup&gt; . Whether reduced energy expenditure stemming from reduced activity levels contributes is debated &lt;sup&gt;3,4&lt;/sup&gt; . Here we show that in both sexes, total energy expenditure (TEE) adjusted for body composition and age declined since the late 1980s, while adjusted activity energy expenditure increased over time. We use the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labelled Water database on energy expenditure of adults in the United States and Europe (n = 4,799) to explore patterns in total (TEE: n = 4,799), basal (BEE: n = 1,432) and physical activity energy expenditure (n = 1,432) over time. In males, adjusted BEE decreased significantly, but in females this did not reach significance. A larger dataset of basal metabolic rate (equivalent to BEE) measurements of 9,912 adults across 163 studies spanning 100 years replicates the decline in BEE in both sexes. We conclude that increasing obesity in the United States/Europe has probably not been fuelled by reduced physical activity leading to lowered TEE. We identify here a decline in adjusted BEE as a previously unrecognized factor

Variation in human water turnover associated with environmental and lifestyle factors.

Water is essential for survival, but one in three individuals worldwide (2.2 billion people) lacks access to safe drinking water. Water intake requirements largely reflect water turnover (WT), the water used by the body each day. We investigated the determinants of human WT in 5604 people from the ages of 8 days to 96 years from 23 countries using isotope-tracking ( &lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; H) methods. Age, body size, and composition were significantly associated with WT, as were physical activity, athletic status, pregnancy, socioeconomic status, and environmental characteristics (latitude, altitude, air temperature, and humidity). People who lived in countries with a low human development index (HDI) had higher WT than people in high-HDI countries. On the basis of this extensive dataset, we provide equations to predict human WT in relation to anthropometric, economic, and environmental factors

Variability in energy expenditure is much greater in males than females.

In mammals, trait variation is often reported to be greater among males than females. However, to date, mainly only morphological traits have been studied. Energy expenditure represents the metabolic costs of multiple physical, physiological, and behavioral traits. Energy expenditure could exhibit particularly high greater male variation through a cumulative effect if those traits mostly exhibit greater male variation, or a lack of greater male variation if many of them do not. Sex differences in energy expenditure variation have been little explored. We analyzed a large database on energy expenditure in adult humans (1494 males and 3108 females) to investigate whether humans have evolved sex differences in the degree of interindividual variation in energy expenditure. We found that, even when statistically comparing males and females of the same age, height, and body composition, there is much more variation in total, activity, and basal energy expenditure among males. However, with aging, variation in total energy expenditure decreases, and because this happens more rapidly in males, the magnitude of greater male variation, though still large, is attenuated in older age groups. Considerably greater male variation in both total and activity energy expenditure could be explained by greater male variation in levels of daily activity. The considerably greater male variation in basal energy expenditure is remarkable and may be explained, at least in part, by greater male variation in the size of energy-demanding organs. If energy expenditure is a trait that is of indirect interest to females when choosing a sexual partner, this would suggest that energy expenditure is under sexual selection. However, we present a novel energetics model demonstrating that it is also possible that females have been under stabilizing selection pressure for an intermediate basal energy expenditure to maximize energy available for reproduction

Further results on cerium fluoride crystals

A systematic investigation of the properties of cerium fluoride monocrystals has been performed by the ''Crystal Clear'' collaboration in view of a possible use of such crystals for the construction of high precision electromagnetic calorimeters for the future generation of high luminosity accelerators. A large sample of different crystals grown by several producers has been studied. The spectroscopic characteristics, the transmission, luminescence aid excitation spectra and the decay time curves are analysed. The light yield of the different crystals is measured with photomultipliers and Si photodiodes and compared to reference standards like BGO and NaI(Tl). The radiation damage behaviour is then presented for gamma and neutron irradiations, at different doses and dose rates, including thermal and optical bleaching