Assessing Child Obesity and Physical Activity in a Hard-to-Reach Population in California's Central Valley, 2012-2013.

IntroductionIn California's agricultural Central Valley, the rate of childhood obesity is higher than the national average. Adequate physical activity contributes to obesity prevention and its assessment is useful to evaluate the impact of interventions.MethodsNiños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family [NSFS]) uses community-based participatory research to implement an intervention program to reduce childhood obesity among people of Mexican origin in the Central Valley. Anthropometric measurements were conducted on more than 650 children enrolled in NSFS. Physical activity data from a subgroup of children aged 4 to 7 years (n = 134) were collected via a wearable accelerometer.ResultsChildren were classified on the basis of age and sex-adjusted body mass index as healthy weight (57.7%); overweight (19.3%), or obese (23%). Logistic regression showed that moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with a child's likelihood of having a healthy BMI (odds ratio: 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .017).ConclusionNSFS's community-based participatory approach resulted in successful use of a commercial electronic device to measure physical activity quantity and quality in this hard-to-reach population. Promotion of adequate daily MVPA is an appropriate and necessary component of NSFS's childhood obesity prevention strategy

Tariff-Mediated Network Effects versus Strategic Discounting: Evidence from German Mobile Telecommunications

Mobile telecommunication operators routinely charge subscribers lower prices for calls on their own network than for calls to other networks (on-net discounts). Studies on tariff-mediated network effects suggest this is due to large operators using on-net discounts to damage smaller rivals. Alternatively, research on strategic discounting suggests small operators use on-net discounts to advertise with low on-net prices. We test the relative strength of these effects using data on tariff setting in German mobile telecommunications between 2001 and 2009. We find that large operators are more likely to offer tariffs with on-net discounts but there is no consistently significant difference in the magnitude of discounts. Our results suggest that tariff-mediated network effects are the main cause of on-net discounts

Dark Matter from the Inflaton Field

We present a model where inflation and Dark Matter takes place via a single scalar field phi. Without introducing any new parameters we are able unify inflation and Dark Matter using a scalar field phi that accounts for inflation at an early epoch while it gives a Dark Matter WIMP particle at low energies. After inflation our universe must be reheated and we must have a long period of radiation dominated before the epoch of Dark Matter. Typically the inflaton decays while it oscillates around the minimum of its potential. If the inflaton decay is not complete or sufficient then the remaining energy density of the inflaton after reheating must be fine tuned to give the correct amount of Dark Matter. An essential feature here, is that Dark Matter-Inflaton particle is produced at low energies without fine tuning or new parameters. This process uses the same coupling g as for the inflaton decay. Once the field phi becomes non-relativistic it will decouple as any WIMP particle, since n_phi is exponentially suppressed. The correct amount of Dark Matter determines the cross section and we have a constraint between the coupling $g$ and the mass $m_o$ of phi. The unification scheme we present here has four free parameters, two for the scalar potential V(phi) given by the inflation parameter lambda of the quartic term and the mass m_o. The other two parameters are the coupling $g$ between the inflaton phi and a scalar filed varphi and the coupling h between varphi with standard model particles psi or chi. These four parameters are already present in models of inflation and reheating process, without considering Dark Matter. Therefore, our unification scheme does not increase the number of parameters and it accomplishes the desired unification between the inflaton and Dark Matter for free.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:0911.517

ACCase 6 is the essential acetyl-CoA carboxylase involved in fatty acid and mycolic acid biosynthesis in mycobacteria

Mycolic acids are essential for the survival, virulence and antibiotic resistance of the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Inhibitors of mycolic acid biosynthesis, such as isoniazid and ethionamide, have been used as efficient drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis. However, the increase in cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis has prompted a search for new targets and agents that could also affect synthesis of mycolic acids. In mycobacteria, the acyl-CoA carboxylases (ACCases) provide the building blocks for de novo fatty acid biosynthesis by fatty acid synthase (FAS) I and for the elongation of FAS I products by the FAS II complex to produce meromycolic acids. By generating a conditional mutant in the accD6 gene of Mycobacterium smegmatis, we demonstrated that AccD6 is the essential carboxyltransferase component of the ACCase 6 enzyme complex implicated in the biosynthesis of malonyl-CoA, the substrate of the two FAS enzymes of Mycobacterium species. Based on the conserved structure of the AccD5 and AccD6 active sites we screened several inhibitors of AccD5 as potential inhibitors of AccD6 and found that the ligand NCI-172033 was capable of inhibiting AccD6 with an IC50 of 8 ìM. The compound showed bactericidal activity against several pathogenic Mycobacterium species by producing a strong inhibition of both fatty acid and mycolic acid biosynthesis at minimal inhibitory concentrations. Overexpression of accD6 in M. smegmatis conferred resistance to NCI-172033, confirming AccD6 as the main target of the inhibitor. These results define the biological role of a key ACCase in the biosynthesis of membrane and cell envelope fatty acids, and provide a new target, AccD6, for rational development of novel anti-mycobacterial drugsFil: Kurth, Daniel German. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Gago, Gabriela Marisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: de la Iglesia, Agustina Inés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Bazet Lyonnet, Bernardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Lin, Ting Wang. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Morbidoni, Héctor Ricardo. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; ArgentinaFil: Tsai, Shiou Chuan. University of California; Estados UnidosFil: Gramajo, Hugo Cesar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Facultad de Ciencias Bioquímicas y Farmacéuticas. Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario; Argentin

Topological Inflation in Dual Superstring Models

We study the possibility of obtaining inflationary solutions from S-dual superstring potentials. We find, in particular, that such solutions occur at the core of domain walls separating degenerate minima whose positions differ by modular transformations.Comment: 12 pages, uuencoded gzipped tar format, Latex, 2 figure

Criterios de la integración paisajística para el diseño del centro recreacional Baños Termales de San Mateo en la ciudad de Moyobamba

La presente investigación tiene como finalidad analizar los criterios de la integración paisajística para determinar los adecuados para el diseño del Centro Recreacional Baños Termales de San Mateo en la ciudad de Moyobamba, fundamentando que estos son utilizados para conseguir que una infraestructura recreacional logre vincularse armónicamente al entorno natural paisajístico, marcando un acercamiento entre el objeto arquitectónico y su contexto, es decir que pueda mimetizarse mediante un adecuado emplazamiento, uso racional de materiales presentes en su entorno, también de un sistema constructivo que rescate lo originario, lo que en conjunto permite que el usuario sienta ese acercamiento y vínculo entre el objeto arquitectónico y el entorno natural paisajístico. Sin embargo, en el Perú no existen infraestructuras que tengan en consideración estos criterios y los aplique adecuadamente, existe quizá un intento empírico de la aplicación de los criterios de integración paisajística, pero no resuelven el estrecho vínculo que debe existir entre el objeto arquitectónico y su contexto paisajístico. Por este motivo, es que se determina como propósito realizar la investigación de los criterios de integración paisajística orientados a encontrar qué dimensiones de los mismos pueden aplicarse en un objeto arquitectónico de tipología recreacional. En tal sentido, resulta pertinente considerar la investigación realizada en el marco teórico y los análisis de casos para determinar los lineamientos de diseño que servirán como solución arquitectónica y que serán aplicados en el proyecto desarrollado, siendo el marco teórico la unidad de estudio que analice los criterios de integración paisajística, y los análisis de casos la unidad de estudio que analice cada caso seleccionado en los cuales se intervienen edificios recreacionales en donde se apliquen los criterios de la variable. Finalmente, desarrolladas las unidades de estudio y realizado el proyecto arquitectónico, se llega a la conclusión pertinente a la hipótesis establecida, de manera que se logre integrar el objeto arquitectónico con su entorno natural paisajístico.The purpose of this research is to analyze the criteria of landscape integration to determine the appropriate ones for the design of the San Mateo Thermal Baths Recreational Center in the city of Moyobamba, basing that these are used to achieve that a recreational infrastructure can be harmoniously linked to the natural landscape environment, marking a rapprochement between the architectural object and its context, that is to say that it can mimic through an adequate location, rational use of materials present in its surroundings, also of a construction system that rescues the original, which together allows the user to feel that rapprochement and link between the architectural object and the natural landscape environment. However, in Peru there are no infrastructures that take these criteria into consideration and apply them adequately; there is perhaps an empirical attempt to apply the criteria of landscape integration, but they do not resolve the close link that should exist between the architectural object and its landscape context. For this reason, it is determined as a purpose to carry out the research of the landscape integration criteria oriented to find which dimensions of them can be applied in an architectural object of recreational typology. In this sense, it is pertinent to consider the research carried out in the theoretical framework and the case analyses to determine the design guidelines that will serve as an architectural solution and that will be applied in the developed project, being the theoretical framework the unit of study that analyzes the criteria of landscape integration, and the case analyses the unit of study that analyzes each selected case in which recreational buildings are intervened where the criteria of the variable are applied. Finally, once the units of study have been developed and the architectural project has been carried out, the pertinent conclusion is reached according to the established hypothesis, in order to integrate the architectural object with its natural landscape environment