Early life predictors of preschool overweight and obesity : a case–control study in Sri Lanka

Background Childhood obesity increases the risk of obesity in adulthood and is associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors. Our aim was to assess the early life risk factors associated with overweight and obesity among preschool children. Methods In this case–control study, from the 1087 preschool children measured, age, sex and ethnicity matched 71 cases and 71 controls were recruited. Cases and controls were defined according to the WHO 2006 growth standards. The birth and growth characteristics were extracted from the child health development records. Infant feeding practices and maternal factors were obtained from the mother. Rapid weight gain was defined as an increase in weight-for-age Z score (WHO standards) above 0.67 SD from birth to 2 years. The magnitude and significant difference in mean values of the variables associated with overweight and obesity were evaluated using logistic regressions and paired t-test, respectively. Results Cases had significantly shorter duration (months) of breastfeeding (19.4, 24.6, p = 0.003), and smaller duration (months) of exclusive breastfeeding (3.7, 5.1, p = 0.001) compared to controls. Rapid weight gain (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 2.04–19.49), first born status (OR = 3.6, 95% CI = 1.17-10.91) and pre-pregnancy obesity (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.46-10.76) were positively associated with overweight and obesity. Breastfeeding more than 2 years (OR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.06-0.57) was negatively associated with overweight and obesity. Conclusion Rapid weight gain within first two years, first–born status and pre-pregnancy obesity of the mother contributed for preschool obesity. Our results suggest that intervention may be indicated earlier in infancy and during the toddler and preschool years to tackle the increasing prevalence of obesity.

The prevalence of anisometropia, amblyopia and strabismus in schoolchildren of Shiraz, Iran

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of amblyopia, anisometropia, and strabismus in schoolchildren of Shiraz, Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS A random cluster sampling was used in a cross-sectional study on schoolchildren in Shiraz. Cycloplegic refraction was performed in elementary and middle school children and high school students had non-cylcoplegic refraction. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) were recorded for each participant. Anisometropia was defined as spherical equivalent (SE) refraction difference 1.00D or more between two eyes. Amblyopia was distinguished as a reduction of BCVA to 20/30 or less in one eye or 2-line interocular optotype acuity differences in the absence of pathological causes. Cover test was performed for investigating of strabismus. RESULTS Mean age of 2638 schoolchildren was 12.5 years (response rate = 86.06%). Prevalence of anisometropia was 2.31% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45 to 3.16). 2.29% of schoolchildren (95% CI, 1.46 to 3.14) were amblyopic. The prevalence of amblyopia in boys and girls was 2.32% and 2.26%, respectively (p = 0.945). Anisometropic amblyopia was found in 58.1% of the amblyopic subjects. The strabismus prevalence was 2.02% (95% CI, 1.18 to 2.85). The prevalence of exotropia and esotropia was 1.30% and 0.59%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study showed that the prevalence of anisometropia, amblyopia, and strabismus are in the mid range. The etiology of amblyopia was often refractive, mostly astigmatic, and non-strabismic. Exotropia prevalence increased with age and was the most common strabismus type.

Adolescent self-reported physical activity and autonomy: A case for constrained and structured environments?

The provision of autonomy supportive environments that promote physical activity engagement have become popular in contemporary youth settings. However, questions remain about whether adolescent perceptions of their autonomy have implications for physical activity. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the association between adolescents’ self-reported physical activity and their perceived autonomy. Participants (n = 384 adolescents) aged between 12 and 15 years were recruited from six secondary schools in metropolitan Brisbane, Australia. Self-reported measures of physical activity and autonomy were obtained. Logistic regression with inverse probability weights were used to examine the association between autonomy and the odds of meeting youth physical activity guidelines. Autonomy (OR 0.61, 95% CI 0.49-0.76) and gender (OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.46-0.83) were negatively associated with meeting physical activity guidelines. However, the model explained only a small amount of the variation in whether youth in this sample met physical activity guidelines (R2 = 0.023). For every 1 unit decrease in autonomy (on an index from 1 to 5), participants were 1.64 times more likely to meet physical activity guidelines. The findings, which are at odds with several previous studies, suggest that interventions designed to facilitate youth physical activity should limit opportunities for youth to make independent decisions about their engagement. However, the small amount of variation explained by the predictors in the model is a caveat, and should be considered prior to applying such suggestions in practical settings. Future research should continue to examine a larger age range, longitudinal observational or intervention studies to examine assertions of causality, as well as objective measurement of physical activity.

Associations between individual socioeconomic position, neighbourhood disadvantage, and transport mode: Baseline results from the HABITAT multilevel study

Background Understanding how different socioeconomic indicators are associated with transport modes provide insight into which interventions might contribute to reducing socioeconomic inequalities in health. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between neighbourhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage, individual-level socioeconomic position (SEP) and usual transport mode. Methods This investigation included 11,036 residents from 200 neighbourhoods in Brisbane, Australia. Respondents self-reported their usual transport mode (car or motorbike, public transport, walking or cycling). Indicators for individual-level SEP were education, occupation, and household income; and neighbourhood disadvantage was measured using a census-derived index. Data were analysed using multilevel multinomial logistic regression. High SEP respondents and residents of the most advantaged neighbourhoods who used a private motor vehicle as their usual form of transport was the reference category. Results Compared with driving a motor vehicle, the odds of using public transport were higher for white collar employees (OR1.68, 95%CrI 1.41-2.01), members of lower income households (OR 1.71 95%CrI 1.25-2.30), and residents of more disadvantaged neighbourhoods (OR 1.93, 95%CrI 1.46-2.54); and lower for respondents with a certificate-level education (OR 0.60, 95%CrI 0.49-0.74) and blue collar workers (OR 0.63, 95%CrI 0.50-0.81). The odds of walking for transport were higher for the least educated (OR 1.58, 95%CrI 1.18-2.11), those not in the labour force (OR 1.94, 95%CrI 1.38-2.72), members of lower income households (OR 2.10, 95%CrI 1.23-3.64), and residents of more disadvantaged neighbourhoods (OR 2.73, 95%CrI 1.46-5.24). The odds of cycling were lower among less educated groups (OR 0.31, 95% CrI 0.19-0.48). Conclusion The relationships between socioeconomic characteristics and transport modes are complex, and provide challenges for those attempting to encourage active forms of transportation. Further work is required exploring the individual- and neighbourhood-level mechanisms behind transport mode choice, and what factors might influence individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds to change to more active transport modes.

Synthesis and enhanced green photoluminescence emission from BCT ZnS nanocrystals

Body-centered-tetragonal (BCT) ZnS nanocrystals have been synthesized, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, by using the chemical coprecipitation method at higher synthesis temperatures of 65 and 95 degrees C. It is confirmed from X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies that in the high-temperature-synthesized samples, cubic and BCT phases coexist, in contrast to the room-temperature-synthesized sample, which consists of only cubic phase with sizes of the particles lying between 2 and 3 nm. The sizes of BCT phase nanocrystals are bigger than those of cubic phase of ZnS. The presence of BCT phase of ZnS in the samples is increased from 40 to 90% when the temperature of synthesis is increased from 65 to 95 degrees C. The nanocrystalline nature and UV-Vis absorption characteristics of the prepared samples have been studied with a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a UV-Visible pectrophotometer, respectively. The room-temperature-synthesized ZnS sample shows photoluminescence (PL) emission in the blue region with multiple peaks, whereas the high-temperature-synthesized samples show PL emissions in the visible region. The Gaussian fittings of the measured PL spectra shows that three PL peaks at 429, 477, and 525 nm are appeared in the 65 degrees C sample and two peaks at 491 and 540 nm appear in the 95 degrees C sample with the enhanced PL intensity of the green peak at 540 nm. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

On the performance of stabilized ?-nickel hydroxide as a nickel-positive electrode in alkaline storage batteries

The internal resistance of a stabilized alpha-nickel hydroxide electrode is found to be lower than that of a beta-nickel hydroxide electrode as shown from studies of the open-circuit potential-time transients at all states-of-charge. Nevertheless, the self-discharge rates of the former is higher. Gasometric studies reveal that the charging efficiency of the alpha-nickel hydroxide electrode is higher than that of the beta-nickel hydroxide electrode.

Morphology controlled synthesis of Al doped ZnO nanosheets on Al alloy substrate by low-temperature solution growth method

We report the morphology-controlled synthesis of aluminium (Al) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanosheets on Al alloy (AA-6061) substrate by a low-temperature solution growth method without using any external seed layer and doping process. Doped ZnO nanosheets were obtained at low temperatures of 60-90 degrees C for the growth time of 4 hours. In addition to the synthesis, the effect of growth temperature on the morphological changes of ZnO nanosheets is also reported. As-synthesized nanosheets are characterized by FE-SEM, XRD TEM and XPS for their morphology, crystallinity, microstructure and compositional analysis respectively. The doping of Al in ZnO nanosheets is confirmed with EDXS and XPS. Furthermore, the effect of growth temperature on the morphological changes was studied in the range of 50 to 95 degrees C. It was found that the thickness and height of the nanosheets varied with respect to the growth temperature. The study has given an important insight into the structural morphology with respect to the growth temperature, which in turn enabled us to determine the growth temperature window for the ZnO nanosheets. These Al doped ZnO nanosheets have potential application possibilities in gas sensors, solar cells and energy harvesting devices like nanogenerators.

Efeito protetor do BCG intradérmico em contatos de pacientes de hanseníase : estudo de caso-controle

O presente estudo se propôs a determinar o efeito protetor da vacinação intradérmica com BCG (bacilo e Calmette-Guérin) em contatos de pacientes de hanseníase através do desenho de estudo caso-controle. Selecionou-se 65 casos e 904 controles, de zero a 29 anos de idade, provenientes de uma população base de contatos de pacientes de hanseníase residentes no Município e Área Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro (área endêmica de hanseníase). De ambos os grupos obteve-se informações quanto a exposição ao BCC (presença ou ausência de cicatriz vacinal), idade, sexo, tipo de contato, parentesco e forma clínica do caso primário. Informações adicionais do caso são acessíveis tais como: forma clínica, bacterioscopia, Mitsuda e grau de incapacidade. Realizou-se análise não pareada dos dados onde a presença de cicatriz de BCG mostrou-se negativamente associada com hanseníase indicando uma eficácia protetora de 59% (95% I.C. = 29 k -77%). A análise estratificada não revelou que as variáveis idade, sexo, tipo de contato, parentesco e forma clínica do caso primário introduziram confusão na avaliação da eficácia vacinal. Discute-se a adequação do desenho de estudo tipo caso-controle para a avaliação de eficácia vacinal em doença crônica, as implicações dos resultados e sua importância para a atividade de vigilância de contatos no Programa de Controle da Hanseníase.

人、黑猩猩和叶猴FKN全基因的克隆及体外表达的比较研究

下载PDF阅读器目的:克隆人、黑猩猩和叶猴FKN全基因及体外表达,比较研究FKN在进化过程中基因组水平和蛋白表达水平的差异.方法:应用基因重叠延伸拼接PCR法(Gene splicing by overlapping extension PCR,SOE-PCR)将FKN的3个外显子编码序列依次进行前后拼接,然后插入pcDNA3.1/myc-His(-)A真核表达载体中,经酶切、测序鉴定后转染CHO细胞体外表达,RT-PCR、SDS-PAGE和Western blot检测其表达产物.结果:酶切、测序鉴定证实插入的基因片段为完整的FKN,RT-PCR可从转染的CHO细胞中扩增出一条与目的基因大小一致的DNA片段,其表达蛋白能分泌至胞外,SDS-PAGE显示其分子量约为95 000,抗c-myc抗体可与载体上的c-myc蛋白特异性结合.测序显示人、黑猩猩和叶猴相比,FKN基因除了有散在的点突变外,还发现有一明显的30 bp的缺失,但此缺失对FKN蛋白的表达并不影响.结论:成功克隆人、黑猩猩和叶猴FKN全基因,基因组水平和蛋白表达水平的比较研究为后续探讨FKN在高级灵长类物种进化过程中免疫学功能的演变奠定基础.

Optimization of biodiesel production from trap grease via acid catalysis

As a kind of waste collected from restaurants, trap grease is a chemically challenging feedstock for biodiesel production for its high free fatty acid (FFA) content. A central composite design was used to evaluate the effect of methanol quantity, acid concentration and reaction time on the synthesis of biodiesel from the trap grease with 50% free fatty acid, while the reaction temperature was selected at 95 degrees C. Using response surface methodology, a quadratic polynomial equation was obtained for ester content by multiple regression analysis. Verification experiments confirmed the validity of the predicted model. To achieve the highest ester content of crude biodiesel (89.67%), the critical values of the three variables were 35.00 (methanol-to-oil molar ratio), 11.27 wt% (catalyst concentration based on trap grease) and 4.59 h (reaction time). The crude biodiesel could be purified by a second distillation to meet the requirement of biodiesel specification of Korea.

Novel biodiesel production technology from soybean soapstock

This paper describes an attractive method to make biodiesel from soybean soapstock (SS). A novel recovery technology of acid oil (AO) from SS has been developed with only sulfuric acid solution under the ambient temperature (25 +/- 2 degrees C). After drying, AO contained 50.0% FFA, 15.5% TAG 6.9% DAG 3.1% MAG 0.8% water and other inert materials. The recovery yield of AO was about 97% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the SS. The acid oil could be directly converted into biodiesel at 95 degrees C in a pressurized reactor within 5 hours. Optimal esterification conditions were determined to be a weight ratio of 1 : 1.5 : 0.1 of AO/methanol/sulfuric acid. Higher reaction temperature helps to shorten the reaction time and requires less catalyst and methanol. Ester content of the biodiesel derived from AO through one-step acid catalyzed reaction is around 92%. After distillation, the purity of the biodiesel produced from AO is 97.6% which meets the Biodiesel Specification of Korea. The yield of purified biodiesel was 94% (w/w) based on the total fatty acids of the soapstock.

四川和云南汉族长寿老人长寿机理研究

随着社会的发展，人均寿命的延长，人口老龄化已经成为我国不可回避的社会 问题。老年人在医疗卫生保健方面的花费远远超过普通人群。健康长寿老人能避 免或者延缓年龄相关疾病的发生，从而减少在卫生保健方面的花费；另外，长寿 老人的子女在年龄相关疾病方面的患病率也显著低于年龄相匹配的对照组。因 此，开展健康长寿方面的研究，一方面可以提高老年人的生活质量，另一方面可 以改善由于人口老龄化而引起的社会问题。 我国长寿老人大多零散分布在乡区，并且由于长寿老人的身体条件等原因， 给完整的收集相关数据带来困难。国内关于长寿的研究主要集中在城镇，而且由 于人群、地域、生活方式等差异我们也不能完全借鉴国外的研究成果。因此,我 们对四川和云南汉族健康长寿老人进行横断面研究,并对其长寿机理进行探索。 从亲缘关系上我们把样品分为：长寿组、血缘组和无血缘组三个组；从年龄上分 为：≤59、60-89、90-94 和≥95 四个组。在实验中，我们测定了常规体检指标， 常见促炎细胞因子和抗炎细胞因子水平以及其调控区的单核苷酸多态性。 一般认为随着年龄增加血糖水平升高，并且高水平的 HDL-C 和高比率的 HDL-C/TC 以及低TC,TG 和LDL-C 水平有利于长寿。都江堰长寿老人血糖水平偏 低，显著低于血缘组和无血缘组以及其他年龄组；调整年龄后，都江堰≥95 岁 年龄组的血糖水平显著高于90-94 年龄组；血糖水平在性别间不存在显著差异。 都江堰长寿老人LDL-C 水平在90-94 和≥95 年龄组显著低于其他年龄组，≥95 年龄组显著低于90-94 年龄组；调整性别后，90-94 年龄组女性的LDL-C 水平显 著高于男性水平，其他年龄组在性别间差异不显著；女性≥95 年龄组显著低于 90-94 年龄组，但在男性中差异不显著。TG 和TC 水平在都江堰和红塔两地各组 中的变化趋势都存在着差异，在性别间比较发现两地各年龄组变化趋势都一致， 仅在90-94 年龄组女性都显著高于男性。HDL-C 水平和HDL-C/TC 在都江堰和红 塔两地各组中变化趋势不一致，调整性别后HDL-C/TC 在90-94 年龄组两地女性 的比率都显著大于男性。通常IL6、IL10 和TNFα 水平随着年龄增加而升高。云 南长寿老人的IL6 水平显著高于血缘组和无血缘组，性别之间的差异不显著。 IL10 水平长寿组显著高于无血缘组，TNFα 水平在各组间差异不显著，由于这两 种细胞因子在绝大多数个体中呈本底水平表达，很难分析年龄与它们水平的相关性。在这三种细胞因子调控区的常见SNPs 位点上，许多研究表明il10-1082 和 il6-174 位点和长寿存在着一定的相关性，tnfα-308 位点与长寿不存在相关性。 在我们收集的样品中il6-174 位点不存在多态性。男性个体的il10-592A 和-819T 的等位基因频率在长寿组显著高于无血缘组，在-1082 位点与长寿不存在相关性。 tnfα-238A 和-308A 等位基因频率在长寿组中显著高于无血缘组，在各组单倍型 间的差异显著，G-G 单倍型在长寿组中呈下降趋势；调整性别后，两位点的等位 基因频率在各组间的差异不显著，但单倍型在各组间差异显著，变化趋势同调整 性别前一致。 总之，四川都江堰长寿人群的血糖水平和LDL-C 水平比较低，都江堰和云南 红塔两地长寿老人的血脂水平存在着地域差异。与前人的研究结果比较,汉族人 群的IL6、IL10 和TNFα水平以及常见的启动区SNPs 位点可能存在人种差异。

预注入对Si_(1-x)C_x合金形成的影响

室温下在单晶Si中注入 (0 6— 1 5 )at%的C原子 ,部分样品在C离子注入之前在其中注入2 9Si+ 离子产生损伤 ,然后在相同条件下利用高温退火固相外延了Si1 -xCx 合金 ,研究了预注入对Si1 -xCx 合金形成的影响 .如果注入C离子的剂量小于引起Si非晶化的剂量 ,在 95 0℃退火过程中注入产生的损伤缺陷容易与C原子结合形成缺陷团簇 ,难于形成Si1 -xCx 合金 ,预注入形成的损伤有利于合金的形成 .随着C离子剂量的增大 ,注入产生的损伤增强 ,预注入反而不利于Si1 -xCx 合金的形成 ,但当注入C原子的浓度超过固相外延的溶解度时 ,预注入的影响可以忽略 .退火温度升高到 10 5 0℃ ,无论预注入还是未预注入样品 ,C含量低的合金相仍然保留 ,而C含量高的合金相大部分消失 .

不同土壤颗粒组成在水蚀过程中的流失规律

研究结果表明 ,土壤有机质和全氮与 <1 0μm土壤颗粒相关系数分别为 0 .63 1 4和 0 .6750 ,与 <1 μm粘粒的相关系数分别达到 0 .72 54和 0 .73 2 9;有机质和全氮在泥沙中的富集现象主要由侵蚀泥沙 <1 μm粘粒富集造成 ;坡度与侵蚀泥沙粘粒、有机质和全氮的富集率的相关系数分别为 -0 .983 2、-0 .93 95和-0 .81 46。

Isothermal crystallization behavior of the poly(L-lactide) block in poly(L-lactide)-poly(ethylene glycol) diblock copolymers: Influence of the PEG block as a diluted solvent

Isothermal crystallization kinetics and morphology of the poly(L-lactide) block in poly(L-lactide)poly(ethylene glycol) diblock copolymers were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized optical microscopy (POM), respectively. The results were compared with that of the PLLA homopolymer. The introduction of the PEG block accelerated the crystallization rate of the PLLA block and promoted to form ring-banded spherulites. The analysis of isothermal crystallization kinetics has shown that the PLLA homopolymer accorded with the Avrami equation. But the PLLA block of the diblock copolymers deviated from the Avrami equation, which resulted from increasing of the crystallization rate and occurring of the second crystallization process. The equilibrium melting temperature (T,,) of the PLLA block fell with its molecular weight decreasing. The conditions to obtain more regular ring-banded spherulites were below: the sample was the PLLA block of LA(5) EG(5); the crystallization temperature was about from 95 degrees C to 100 degrees C, which almost corresponded to regime II.