A Cluster Analysis of Lifestyle and Health Habits of Youth from Two Geographically and Culturally Diverse Countries

Objectives: Obesity is a leading risk factor for global mortality, promoted by poor dietary habits and sedentary behaviour. This study explores the clustering and differences in dietary habits, body mass index (BMI) and physical activity (PA) amongst youth from United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: 2290 males and females aged 15 - 17 years completed a self-report questionnaire and an objective measure of BMI. Results: Youth from SA had a higher prevalence of overweight/obesity and lower levels of PA than youth from the UK. Males were more physically active than females across both countries. Three clusters were identified: a “high risk” cluster with least healthy dietary habits, low PA and high BMI; a “moderate cluster” with moderate healthy dietary habits, PA and BMI; a “low risk” cluster with healthiest dietary habits, greatest PA and the lowest BMI compared to the other clusters. There were more SA youth in the high and moderate risk clusters compared to UK youth. Conclusions: Exploring cross-cultural and demographic characteristics of youth enables the identification of similarities and differences that might lead to the development of universal intervention strategies

On the breaking of collinear factorization in QCD

We investigate the breakdown of collinear factorization for non-inclusive observables in hadron-hadron collisions. For pure QCD processes, factorization is violated at the three-loop level and it has a structure identical to that encountered previously in the case of super-leading logarithms. In particular, it is driven by the non-commutation of Coulomb/Glauber gluon exchanges with other soft exchanges. Beyond QCD, factorization may be violated at the two-loop level provided that the hard subprocess contains matrix element contributions with phase differences between different colour topologies.Comment: Version 2: minor improvements for journal publicatio

A framework to assess the terrestrial risk of antibiotic resistance from antibiotics in slurry or manure amended soils

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) or the silent pandemic is a major global health and economic issue, threatening both modern healthcare and food production. There is increasing concern that the presence of antibiotics in the environment may select for the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Currently environmental regulatory guidelines fail to address ABR risks, and while there is ongoing work to address this within aquatic environments, terrestrial systems have been somewhat overlooked – perhaps in part due to a focus on wastewater treatment plant effluent as the main source of antibiotics within the environment. Within agriculture there is an increasing push to move away from chemical-based fertilisers and towards the use of organic soil amendments such as slurry, manure or sludge, to improve soil health. However, these organic soil amendments have been shown to contain antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals alongside antibiotic resistant bacteria, posing a potential risk to the environment, livestock and humans through the proliferation and spread of ABR. It is therefore important that a risk framework is developed in relation to ABR and organic soil amendment use. Using current knowledge on the fate of antibiotics within soil and mathematical models, this manuscript presents a novel framework for assessing the terrestrial risk of antibiotic resistance through the use of farmyard manure as fertiliser

Characterization of RNase MRP RNA and novel snoRNAs from Giardia intestinalis and Trichomonas vaginalis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Eukaryotic cells possess a complex network of RNA machineries which function in RNA-processing and cellular regulation which includes transcription, translation, silencing, editing and epigenetic control. Studies of model organisms have shown that many ncRNAs of the RNA-infrastructure are highly conserved, but little is known from non-model protists. In this study we have conducted a genome-scale survey of medium-length ncRNAs from the protozoan parasites <it>Giardia intestinalis </it>and <it>Trichomonas vaginalis</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have identified the previously 'missing' <it>Giardia </it>RNase MRP RNA, which is a key ribozyme involved in pre-rRNA processing. We have also uncovered 18 new H/ACA box snoRNAs, expanding our knowledge of the H/ACA family of snoRNAs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Results indicate that <it>Giardia intestinalis </it>and <it>Trichomonas vaginalis</it>, like their distant multicellular relatives, contain a rich infrastructure of RNA-based processing. From here we can investigate the evolution of RNA processing networks in eukaryotes.</p

The potential health impact of restricting less-healthy food and beverage advertising on UK television between 05.30 and 21.00 hours: A modelling study

BACKGROUND: Restrictions on the advertising of less-healthy foods and beverages is seen as one measure to tackle childhood obesity and is under active consideration by the UK government. Whilst evidence increasingly links this advertising to excess calorie intake, understanding of the potential impact of advertising restrictions on population health is limited. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We used a proportional multi-state life table model to estimate the health impact of prohibiting the advertising of food and beverages high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS) from 05.30 hours to 21.00 hours (5:30 AM to 9:00 PM) on television in the UK. We used the following data to parameterise the model: children's exposure to HFSS advertising from AC Nielsen and Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (2015); effect of less-healthy food advertising on acute caloric intake in children from a published meta-analysis; population numbers and all-cause mortality rates from the Human Mortality Database for the UK (2015); body mass index distribution from the Health Survey for England (2016); disability weights for estimating disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from the Global Burden of Disease Study; and healthcare costs from NHS England programme budgeting data. The main outcome measures were change in the percentage of the children (aged 5-17 years) with obesity defined using the International Obesity Task Force cut-points, and change in health status (DALYs). Monte Carlo analyses was used to estimate 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). We estimate that if all HFSS advertising between 05.30 hours and 21.00 hours was withdrawn, UK children (n = 13,729,000), would see on average 1.5 fewer HFSS adverts per day and decrease caloric intake by 9.1 kcal (95% UI 0.5-17.7 kcal), which would reduce the number of children (aged 5-17 years) with obesity by 4.6% (95% UI 1.4%-9.5%) and with overweight (including obesity) by 3.6% (95% UI 1.1%-7.4%) This is equivalent to 40,000 (95% UI 12,000-81,000) fewer UK children with obesity, and 120,000 (95% UI 34,000-240,000) fewer with overweight. For children alive in 2015 (n = 13,729,000), this would avert 240,000 (95% UI 65,000-530,000) DALYs across their lifetime (i.e., followed from 2015 through to death), and result in a health-related net monetary benefit of £7.4 billion (95% UI £2.0 billion-£16 billion) to society. Under a scenario where all HFSS advertising is displaced to after 21.00 hours, rather than withdrawn, we estimate that the benefits would be reduced by around two-thirds. This is a modelling study and subject to uncertainty; we cannot fully and accurately account for all of the factors that would affect the impact of this policy if implemented. Whilst randomised trials show that children exposed to less-healthy food advertising consume more calories, there is uncertainty about the nature of the dose-response relationship between HFSS advertising and calorie intake. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that HFSS television advertising restrictions between 05.30 hours and 21.00 hours in the UK could make a meaningful contribution to reducing childhood obesity. We estimate that the impact on childhood obesity of this policy may be reduced by around two-thirds if adverts are displaced to after 21.00 hours rather than being withdrawn

Defining goal terms in development and health

YesMost academic literature uses ‘goal’, ‘aim’, ‘objective’ and ‘target’ as synonymous terms, but development and healthcare sectors define them as distinct etymological entities with varied and confusing interpretations. This review sought to constructively harmonise and differentiate each definition using a thematic framework. An inductive synthesis of definitions of the goal terms collected from 22 literature sources selected through a systematic internet search. Thirty-three specific definitions were reduced through serial category-building to single general definitions, and a set of theoretical themes generated as characteristic framework of each goal. Seven conceptual themes evolved from the synthesis, including the object, scope, hierarchy, timeframe, measurability, significance and expression of each goal term. Two terms, ‘goal’ and ‘aim’ are thematically similar as broad objects of immeasurable terminal impact, with a long-term timeframe. They signify organisational success, expressed as general purpose statements. ‘Objective’ is differentiated as a specific object of measurable intermediate outcome, with short-term timeframe. It signifies intervention effectiveness, expressed as a SMART statement. ‘Target’ is simply a specific quantifiable level of an indicator. Goal, aim, objective and target are conceptually different. New frameworks for writing complete goal statements are proposed, including impact and timeframe; and outcome, indicator and timeframe frameworks for aim and objective respectivel

Eikonal methods applied to gravitational scattering amplitudes

We apply factorization and eikonal methods from gauge theories to scattering amplitudes in gravity. We hypothesize that these amplitudes factor into an IR-divergent soft function and an IR-finite hard function, with the former given by the expectation value of a product of gravitational Wilson line operators. Using this approach, we show that the IR-divergent part of the n-graviton scattering amplitude is given by the exponential of the one-loop IR divergence, as originally discovered by Weinberg, with no additional subleading IR-divergent contributions in dimensional regularization.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures; v2: title change and minor rewording (published version); v3: typos corrected in eqs.(3.2),(4.1

Estimation of Dietary Iron Bioavailability from Food Iron Intake and Iron Status

Currently there are no satisfactory methods for estimating dietary iron absorption (bioavailability) at a population level, but this is essential for deriving dietary reference values using the factorial approach. The aim of this work was to develop a novel approach for estimating dietary iron absorption using a population sample from a sub-section of the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS). Data were analyzed in 873 subjects from the 2000–2001 adult cohort of the NDNS, for whom both dietary intake data and hematological measures (hemoglobin and serum ferritin (SF) concentrations) were available. There were 495 men aged 19–64 y (mean age 42.7±12.1 y) and 378 pre-menopausal women (mean age 35.7±8.2 y). Individual dietary iron requirements were estimated using the Institute of Medicine calculations. A full probability approach was then applied to estimate the prevalence of dietary intakes that were insufficient to meet the needs of the men and women separately, based on their estimated daily iron intake and a series of absorption values ranging from 1–40%. The prevalence of SF concentrations below selected cut-off values (indicating that absorption was not high enough to maintain iron stores) was derived from individual SF concentrations. An estimate of dietary iron absorption required to maintain specified SF values was then calculated by matching the observed prevalence of insufficiency with the prevalence predicted for the series of absorption estimates. Mean daily dietary iron intakes were 13.5 mg for men and 9.8 mg for women. Mean calculated dietary absorption was 8% in men (50th percentile for SF 85 µg/L) and 17% in women (50th percentile for SF 38 µg/L). At a ferritin level of 45 µg/L estimated absorption was similar in men (14%) and women (13%). This new method can be used to calculate dietary iron absorption at a population level using data describing total iron intake and SF concentration

Atomic-level structural and chemical analysis of Cr-doped Bi2Se3 thin films

We present a study of the structure and chemical composition of the Cr-doped 3D topological insulator Bi2Se3. Single-crystalline thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Al2O3 (0001), and their structural and chemical properties determined on an atomic level by aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. A regular quintuple layer stacking of the Bi2Se3 film is found, with the exception of the first several atomic layers in the initial growth. The spectroscopy data gives direct evidence that Cr is preferentially substituting for Bi in the Bi2Se3 host. We also show that Cr has a tendency to segregate at internal grain boundaries of the Bi2Se3 film

An international internet survey of the experiences of 1,714 mothers with a late stillbirth: The STARS cohort study

Background: Stillbirth occurring after 28 weeks gestation affects between 1.5-4.5 per 1,000 births in high-income countries. The majority of stillbirths in this setting occur in women without risk factors. In addition, many established risk factors such as nulliparity and maternal age are not amenable to modification during pregnancy. Identification of other risk factors which could be amenable to change in pregnancy should be a priority in stillbirth prevention research. Therefore, this study aimed to utilise an online survey asking women who had a stillbirth about their pregnancy in order to identify any common symptoms and experiences. Methods: A web-based survey. Results: A total of 1,714 women who had experienced a stillbirth >3 weeks prior to enrolment completed the survey. Common experiences identified were: perception of changes in fetal movement (63 % of respondents), reports of a "gut instinct" that something was wrong (68 %), and perceived time of death occurring overnight (56 %). A quarter of participants believed that their baby's death was due to a cord issue and another 18 % indicated that they did not know the reason why their baby died. In many cases (55 %) the mother believed the cause of death was different to that told by clinicians. Conclusions: This study confirms the association between altered fetal movements and stillbirth and highlights novel associations that merit closer scrutiny including a maternal gut instinct that something was wrong. The potential importance of maternal sleep is highlighted by the finding of more than half the mothers believing their baby died during the night. This study supports the importance of listening to mothers' concerns and symptoms during pregnancy and highlights the need for thorough investigation of stillbirth and appropriate explanation being given to parents