Macronutrient composition of the diet and prospective weight change in participants of the EPIC-PANACEA study.

BACKGROUND The effect of the macronutrient composition of the usual diet on long term weight maintenance remains controversial. METHODS 373,803 subjects aged 25-70 years were recruited in 10 European countries (1992-2000) in the PANACEA project of the EPIC cohort. Diet was assessed at baseline using country-specific validated questionnaires and weight and height were measured at baseline and self-reported at follow-up in most centers. The association between weight change after 5 years of follow-up and the iso-energetic replacement of 5% of energy from one macronutrient by 5% of energy from another macronutrient was assessed using multivariate linear mixed-models. The risk of becoming overweight or obese after 5 years was investigated using multivariate Poisson regressions stratified according to initial Body Mass Index. RESULTS A higher proportion of energy from fat at the expense of carbohydrates was not significantly associated with weight change after 5 years. However, a higher proportion of energy from protein at the expense of fat was positively associated with weight gain. A higher proportion of energy from protein at the expense of carbohydrates was also positively associated with weight gain, especially when carbohydrates were rich in fibre. The association between percentage of energy from protein and weight change was slightly stronger in overweight participants, former smokers, participants ≥60 years old, participants underreporting their energy intake and participants with a prudent dietary pattern. Compared to diets with no more than 14% of energy from protein, diets with more than 22% of energy from protein were associated with a 23-24% higher risk of becoming overweight or obese in normal weight and overweight subjects at baseline. CONCLUSION Our results show that participants consuming an amount of protein above the protein intake recommended by the American Diabetes Association may experience a higher risk of becoming overweight or obese during adult life.

Cross-validation of bioelectrical impedance analysis for the assessment of body composition in a representative sample of 6- to 13-year-old children.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: (1) To cross-validate tetra- (4-BIA) and octopolar (8-BIA) bioelectrical impedance analysis vs dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for the assessment of total and appendicular body composition and (2) to evaluate the accuracy of external 4-BIA algorithms for the prediction of total body composition, in a representative sample of Swiss children. SUBJECTS/METHODS: A representative sample of 333 Swiss children aged 6-13 years from the Kinder-Sportstudie (KISS) (ISRCTN15360785). Whole-body fat-free mass (FFM) and appendicular lean tissue mass were measured with DXA. Body resistance (R) was measured at 50 kHz with 4-BIA and segmental body resistance at 5, 50, 250 and 500 kHz with 8-BIA. The resistance index (RI) was calculated as height(2)/R. Selection of predictors (gender, age, weight, RI4 and RI8) for BIA algorithms was performed using bootstrapped stepwise linear regression on 1000 samples. We calculated 95% confidence intervals (CI) of regression coefficients and measures of model fit using bootstrap analysis. Limits of agreement were used as measures of interchangeability of BIA with DXA. RESULTS: 8-BIA was more accurate than 4-BIA for the assessment of FFM (root mean square error (RMSE)=0.90 (95% CI 0.82-0.98) vs 1.12 kg (1.01-1.24); limits of agreement 1.80 to -1.80 kg vs 2.24 to -2.24 kg). 8-BIA also gave accurate estimates of appendicular body composition, with RMSE < or = 0.10 kg for arms and < or = 0.24 kg for legs. All external 4-BIA algorithms performed poorly with substantial negative proportional bias (r> or = 0.48, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a representative sample of young Swiss children (1) 8-BIA was superior to 4-BIA for the prediction of FFM, (2) external 4-BIA algorithms gave biased predictions of FFM and (3) 8-BIA was an accurate predictor of segmental body composition.

Stable carbon isotope composition of perirenal adipose tissue fatty acids from Engadine sheep grazing either mountain or lowland pasture

To provide further insights into ruminant lipid digestion and metabolism, and into cis9, trans-11 18:2 synthesis, 12 growing Engadine lambs grazing either mountain pasture (2,250 m above sea level; n = 6) or lowland pasture (400 m above sea level; n = 6) were studied. Both pastures consisted exclusively of C-3 plants. Before the experiment, all animals grazed a common pasture for 6 wk. Grasses and perirenal adipose tissues of the sheep were analyzed for fatty acids by gas chromatography. Stable C-isotope ratios (delta C-13 values in % vs. the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite standard) were determined in the composite samples by elemental analysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The delta C-13 of the individual fatty acids were measured by gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The delta C-13 value of the entire mountain pasture grass was -27.5% (SD 0.31), whereas that of the lowland pasture grass was -30.0% (SD 0.07). This difference was reflected in the perirenal adipose tissues of the corresponding sheep (P < 0.05), even though the delta C-13 values were less in the animals than in the grass. The delta C-13 values for cis-9 16:1 and cis-9 18:1 in perirenal fat differed between mountain and lowland lambs (P < 0.05). The 16:0 in the adipose tissue was enriched in C-13 by 5% compared with the dietary 16:0, likely as a result of partly endogenous synthesis. The d13C values of cis-9, trans-11 18:2 (cis-9, trans-11 CLA) in the adipose tissue were smaller than those of its dietary precursors, cis-9, cis-12 18:2 and cis-9, cis-12, cis-15 18:3; conversely, the delta C-13 values of trans-11 18:1 were not, suggesting that large proportions of perirenal cis-9, trans-11 18:2 were of endogenous origin and discrimination against C-13 occurred during Delta(9)-desaturation. The same discrimination was indicated by the isotopic shift between 16:0 and cis-9 16:1 in the mountain grazing group. Furthermore, the delta C-13 values of cis-9, trans-11 18:2 were smaller relative to the precursor fatty acids in the mountain lambs compared with the lowland group. This result suggests a reduced extent of biohydrogenation in lambs grazing on mountain grass in comparison with those grazing on lowland grass. This was supported by the smaller cis-9, trans-11 18:2 concentrations in total fatty acids found in the adipose tissues of the lowland lambs (P < 0.001). The results of this study demonstrate that natural differences between delta C-13 values of swards from different pastures and the adipose tissue fatty acids could be used as tracers in studies of lipid metabolism in ruminants.

Species composition and seasonal abundance of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in coffee agroecosystems

The composition and seasonal occurrence of sandflies were investigated in coffee agroecosystems in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico. Insect sampling was performed on three plantations located at different altitudes: Finca Guadalupe Zajú [1,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.)], Finca Argovia (613 m a.s.l.) and Teotihuacán del Valle (429 m a.s.l.). Sandflies were sampled monthly from August 2007-July 2008 using three sampling methods: Shannon traps, CDC miniature light traps and Disney traps. Sampling was conducted for 3 h during three consecutive nights, beginning at sunset. A total of 4,387 sandflies were collected during the course of the study: 2,718 individuals in Finca Guadalupe Zajú, 605 in Finca Argovia and 1,064 in Teotihuacán del Valle. The Shannon traps captured 94.3% of the total sandflies, while the CDC light traps and Disney traps captured 4.9% and 0.8%, respectively. More females than males were collected at all sites. While the number of sandflies captured was positively correlated with temperature and relative humidity, a negative correlation was observed between sandfly numbers and rainfall. Five species of sandflies were captured: Lutzomyia cruciata , Lutzomyia texana , Lutzomyia ovallesi , Lutzomyia cratifer / undulata and Brumptomyia sp. Lu. cruciata , constituting 98.8% of the total, was the most abundant species. None of the captured sandflies was infected with Leishmaniaspp.

Sulfur and strontium isotope composition of the Llobregat River (NE Spain): Tracers of natural and anthropogenic chemicals in stream waters

The use of sulfur and strontium isotopes as tracers for the source/s of water contaminants have been applied to the water of the Llobregat River system (NE Spain). Surface water samples from June 1997 were collected from the Llobregat River and its main tributaries and creeks. The chemistry of most stream waters are controlled mainly by the weathering of Tertiary chemical sediments within the drainage basin. The largest variation in delta(34)S values were found in the small creeks with values ranging from -9.9 to 15parts per thousand, whilst in the main river channels values ranged from 6.3 to 12.4parts per thousand. The Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio for dissolved strontium ranged from 0.70795 for a non-polluted site to 0.70882 for a polluted one. Most of the waters with high NO3 and low Ca/Na ratio converge to the same Sr-87/Sr-86 value, pointing to dominant pollutant end member contribution or a mixing of pollutants with an isotopic composition around 0.7083-0.7085. Although the concentration of the natural inputs in the river for sulfate and strontium are high, as a result of the sulfate outcrops within the geology of the basin, their isotopic characteristics suggest that they can be used as a discriminating device in water pollution problems. However to establish the detailed characteristics of the isotopes as geochemical tools, specific high-resolution case studies are necessary in small areas, where the inputs are well known.

Body composition interpretation. Contributions of the fat-free mass index and the body fat mass index.

OBJECTIVE: Low and high body mass index (BMI) values have been shown to increase health risks and mortality and result in variations in fat-free mass (FFM) and body fat mass (BF). Currently, there are no published ranges for a fat-free mass index (FFMI; kg/m(2)), a body fat mass index (BFMI; kg/m(2)), and percentage of body fat (%BF). The purpose of this population study was to determine predicted FFMI and BFMI values in subjects with low, normal, overweight, and obese BMI. METHODS: FFM and BF were determined in 2986 healthy white men and 2649 white women, age 15 to 98 y, by a previously validated 50-kHz bioelectrical impedance analysis equation. FFMI, BFMI, and %BF were calculated. RESULTS: FFMI values were 16.7 to 19.8 kg/m(2) for men and 14.6 to 16.8 kg/m(2) for women within the normal BMI ranges. BFMI values were 1.8 to 5.2 kg/m(2) for men and 3.9 to 8.2 kg/m(2) for women within the normal BMI ranges. BFMI values were 8.3 and 11.8 kg/m(2) in men and women, respectively, for obese BMI (>30 kg/m(2)). Normal ranges for %BF were 13.4 to 21.7 and 24.6 to 33.2 for men and women, respectively. CONCLUSION: BMI alone cannot provide information about the respective contribution of FFM or fat mass to body weight. This study presents FFMI and BFMI values that correspond to low, normal, overweight, and obese BMIs. FFMI and BFMI provide information about body compartments, regardless of height.

Detection, Determination of Chemical Composition and Chemical Profiling of Counterfeit Medicines by Raman Spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy has become a widespread technique for the analysis ofpharmaceutical solid forms. The application proposed here is the investigationof counterfeit medicines. This serious global issue requires quick and accurateidentification methods to fight against this phenomenon. Thanks to its chemicalselectivity, rapidity of analysis and potential of generating repeatable spectralprofiles, Raman spectroscopy presents distinct advantages for the analysis ofcounterfeits. Combined with chemometric tools, the technique enablesthe detection, the determination of chemical composition and the profiling ofmedicine counterfeits.

Composition and cost of drugs stored at home by elderly patients.

BACKGROUND: Elderly people often have multiple chronic diseases, are frequently treated by several physicians, and also use over-the-counter medications. Excessive prescribing, imperfect therapeutic adherence, treatment modifications after hospitalization, and oversized drug packages result in home storage of leftover drugs, resulting in a waste of healthcare resources. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients aged >/=75 years hospitalized for >24 hours during a 6-month period in an urban teaching hospital in Switzerland were eligible for inclusion in a study collecting sociodemographics, medical, functional, and psychosocial characteristics. Six months later, a research nurse visited the patients at home and recorded the names, number of tablets, and expiration dates of all open or intact drug packages, and the doses actually taken. Acquisition costs of these drugs were computed. RESULTS: One hundred ninety-five patients were included (127 women; mean age 82.2 +/- 4.8 y, range 75-96). They had a total of 2059 drugs (mean per patient 10.3 +/- 6.7, range per patient 1-42), corresponding to a total cost of (US) $62 826 (mean per patient 322 +/- 275, range per patient 10-1571). Self-reported drug intake was regular for 36% of the drugs (46.5% of total costs) and occasional for 11% (6.1%), whereas 35.7% (30.1%) had been stopped during the last month. Cardiovascular drugs amounted to 36.6% of the drugs and 55.5% of the costs. None of the patients' characteristics was significantly associated with a greater number of drugs and higher costs. CONCLUSIONS: Drugs stored at home by elderly patients were worth about $320 per patient. Only about one-third of these drugs were regularly taken. In the context of resources shortage, innovative solutions should be found to reduce the waste linked with drugs stopped in previous months.

Statistical evidences of cyclic changes in volcanic gas chemistry composition by inverse modelling

The identification of compositional changes in fumarolic gases of active and quiescent volcanoes is one of the mostimportant targets in monitoring programs. From a general point of view, many systematic (often cyclic) and randomprocesses control the chemistry of gas discharges, making difficult to produce a convincing mathematical-statisticalmodelling.Changes in the chemical composition of volcanic gases sampled at Vulcano Island (Aeolian Arc, Sicily, Italy) fromeight different fumaroles located in the northern sector of the summit crater (La Fossa) have been analysed byconsidering their dependence from time in the period 2000-2007. Each intermediate chemical composition has beenconsidered as potentially derived from the contribution of the two temporal extremes represented by the 2000 and 2007samples, respectively, by using inverse modelling methodologies for compositional data. Data pertaining to fumarolesF5 and F27, located on the rim and in the inner part of La Fossa crater, respectively, have been used to achieve theproposed aim. The statistical approach has allowed us to highlight the presence of random and not random fluctuations,features useful to understand how the volcanic system works, opening new perspectives in sampling strategies and inthe evaluation of the natural risk related to a quiescent volcano

A Factor analysis of hidrochemical composition of Llobregat river basin

Hydrogeological research usually includes some statistical studies devised to elucidate mean background state, characterise relationships among different hydrochemical parameters, and show the influence of human activities. These goals are achieved either by means of a statistical approach or by mixing modelsbetween end-members. Compositional data analysis has proved to be effective with the first approach, but there is no commonly accepted solution to the end-member problem in a compositional framework.We present here a possible solution based on factor analysis of compositions illustrated with a case study.We find two factors on the compositional bi-plot fitting two non-centered orthogonal axes to the most representative variables. Each one of these axes defines a subcomposition, grouping those variables thatlay nearest to it. With each subcomposition a log-contrast is computed and rewritten as an equilibrium equation. These two factors can be interpreted as the isometric log-ratio coordinates (ilr) of three hiddencomponents, that can be plotted in a ternary diagram. These hidden components might be interpreted as end-members.We have analysed 14 molarities in 31 sampling stations all along the Llobregat River and its tributaries, with a monthly measure during two years. We have obtained a bi-plot with a 57% of explained totalvariance, from which we have extracted two factors: factor G, reflecting geological background enhanced by potash mining; and factor A, essentially controlled by urban and/or farming wastewater. Graphicalrepresentation of these two factors allows us to identify three extreme samples, corresponding to pristine waters, potash mining influence and urban sewage influence. To confirm this, we have available analysisof diffused and widespread point sources identified in the area: springs, potash mining lixiviates, sewage, and fertilisers. Each one of these sources shows a clear link with one of the extreme samples, exceptfertilisers due to the heterogeneity of their composition.This approach is a useful tool to distinguish end-members, and characterise them, an issue generally difficult to solve. It is worth note that the end-member composition cannot be fully estimated but only characterised through log-ratio relationships among components. Moreover, the influence of each endmember in a given sample must be evaluated in relative terms of the other samples. These limitations areintrinsic to the relative nature of compositional data

Changes in Body Composition in Anorexia Nervosa: Predictors of Recovery and Treatment Outcome.

The restoration of body composition (BC) parameters is considered to be one of the most important goals in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). However, little is known about differences between AN diagnostic subtypes [restricting (AN-R) and binge/purging (AN-BP)] and weekly changes in BC during refeeding treatment. Therefore, the main objectives of our study were twofold: 1) to assess the changes in BC throughout nutritional treatment in an AN sample and 2) to analyze predictors of BC changes during treatment, as well as predictors of treatment outcome. The whole sample comprised 261 participants [118 adult females with AN (70 AN-R vs. 48 AN-BP), and 143 healthy controls]. BC was measured weekly during 15 weeks of day-hospital treatment using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Assessment measures also included the Eating Disorders Inventory-2, as well as a number of other clinical indices. Overall, the results showed that AN-R and AN-BP patients statistically differed in all BC measures at admission. However, no significant time×group interaction was found for almost all BC parameters. Significant time×group interactions were only found for basal metabolic rate (p = .041) and body mass index (BMI) (p = .035). Multiple regression models showed that the best predictors of pre-post changes in BC parameters (namely fat-free mass, muscular mass, total body water and BMI) were the baseline values of BC parameters. Stepwise predictive logistic regressions showed that only BMI and age were significantly associated with outcome, but not with the percentage of body fat. In conclusion, these data suggest that although AN patients tended to restore all BC parameters during nutritional treatment, only AN-BP patients obtained the same fat mass values as healthy controls. Put succinctly, the best predictors of changes in BC were baseline BC values, which did not, however, seem to influence treatment outcome.

Composition of fingermark residue: a qualitative and quantitative review

This article describes the composition of fingermark residue as being a complex system with numerous compounds coming from different sources and evolving over time from the initial composition (corresponding to the composition right after deposition) to the aged composition (corresponding to the evolution of the initial composition over time). This complex system will additionally vary due to effects of numerous influence factors grouped in five different classes: the donor characteristics, the deposition conditions, the substrate nature, the environmental conditions and the applied enhancement techniques. The initial and aged compositions as well as the influence factors are thus considered in this article to provide a qualitative and quantitative review of all compounds identified in fingermark residue up to now. The analytical techniques used to obtain these data are also enumerated. This review highlights the fact that despite the numerous analytical processes that have already been proposed and tested to elucidate fingermark composition, advanced knowledge is still missing. Thus, there is a real need to conduct future research on the composition of fingermark residue, focusing particularly on quantitative measurements, aging kinetics and effects of influence factors. The results of future research are particularly important for advances in fingermark enhancement and dating technique developments.